Devil's Heartstrings
by MandalorianHybrid
Summary: They almost made it. After waking from a five-year slumber, the Mikaelsons were almost able to walk away, but something dark is pulling them back to New Orleans, and it isn't just the adults it seeks. As before, enemies surround them, but they have an even more precious thing to protect: Hope. But how can you protect someone from a ghost? Originals Book 4
1. Chapter 1

(Author's note at the end.)

 **Chapter 1**

 _The scene was black. No light shined anywhere and the darkness seemed to weigh on her shoulders. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see any distance ahead of her. The blackness that surrounded her was different than normal. It was thick and visceral. It was all encompassing._

 _Without warning, lights flickered into existence. A thousand candles ignited at once and bathed the vast area in a gentle orange glow._

 _They lined everything. Candles of all sizes were spread along the floor in random groupings and on their own. The walls surrounding her were dotted with sconces and a few stood in tall candelabras. It was a haunting sight, and beautiful too._

 _Surprised, but still uncertain of where she was, Kali spun slowly in her spot. Behind her and at the end of the newly lit hall stood a figure clad in black. It was a man wearing a suit as black as the world had been only a moment before._

 _Without knowing why, K approached the figure. For some reason, she felt weight on her body and glanced down for the first time. She was wearing a dress. Black chiffon hung from her hips in a beautifully tailored cascade. Her torso was held securely in a corset and was dotted with hints of light-catching sequins. Her brows came together. She didn't understand._

 _When K looked up, the figure in black had begun to turn. She felt her heart stop and thunder at the same time when she saw a familiar face looking back at her. Despite the devil's mask that shielded his face, K would recognize Klaus anywhere. It was his piercing blue eyes that glinted in the light and his full lips turned up into a smirk._

 _He said nothing as she fought the urge to cry and simply offered her his hand. K's feet found their rhythm again and happily closed the twenty-foot gap between them. The moment she touched his hand, fire pulsed through her body and music began in the distance._

 _Klaus pulled her close, wrapped his arms around her and began to guide her into a dance as drums and string instruments played their haunting melody somewhere unseen._

 _K couldn't fight the smile that touched her lips or the tears that fled down her cheeks at the sight of him. She didn't even care that he was wearing the same devil mask he'd worn to Marcel's masquerade party well over a year ago. It was Klaus, and that was enough._

 _They swayed widely and fluidly through the candles without a single flame flickering. Their feet barely touched the ground and K could have sworn she was floating as she stared unblinkingly at the man holding her. She begged to say so much, to ask a thousand questions and tell him everything she could think of, but words never came. The only thing that did, were more silent tears._

 _As they continued to dance, Klaus reached up gently trailed the back of his curled index finger down the glistening streams of spilled tears. K sighed and moved into the action. He held her cheek tenderly._

" _No need for tears, darling." He told her in a kind, warm voice._

" _I miss you." She breathed the words more than actually spoke them._

 _His smile remained unchanged as did the look in his eyes. Instead of replying, Klaus leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. K's eyes drifted shut and her fingers clutched almost desperately at his suit._

 _Without warning, she heard bones crunch, the sound of ripping flesh, smelled blood and felt unimaginable pain radiate through her chest. She shot back from Klaus only far enough to see what had happened and immediately screamed because of it._

 _Between them was a bloody fist clutching Klaus' heart while the man himself began to turn gray. Klaus' mouth hung slack, his eyes held no focus and he was dying._

" _NO!" Kali screamed at the top of her lungs._

 _As suddenly as it had appeared, the fist retreated through Klaus' chest and he crumbled to the ground. K instantly sank to her knees and pulled him into her lap. She didn't even feel the ache of the hole through her own chest or the fact that she was covered in their blood. Her only concern was Klaus._

" _No, no, no, no, no," she repeated quickly under her breath as she adjusted him in her lap. "Stay with me, all right?"_

 _Klaus barely managed to look up at her. He reached up and gently touched her cheek again, trailing lines of crimson down her ivory skin when he had._

" _Find me,"_

 _His words were little more than a gasping attempt to speak before he went eerily still in her lap. The tears came harder than before and K began to shake. She screamed again as she hugged him to her._

 _Footsteps were somehow heard over her own sobs. K looked up and saw Marcel approaching with glowing red eyes and a wicked smile twisting his otherwise handsome features. Clamped firmly within his steely fingers was Klaus' heart. It continued to drip blood, and when Marcel stopped walking, the sound of the drops hitting the ground was all that met her ears. She glared up at him through her lashes, shaking with hatred, rage and the purest agony she'd ever felt._

 _Marcel said nothing, only began to laugh. The sound echoed around them, but she didn't pay him the slightest attention. K looked again to Klaus. Still holding him tightly, she wrapped herself around him and buried her face into his shoulder. She began to sob again, to shake and cry._

 _Marcel's laughter began to fade into the background. The music was gone. There was no more dancing and the flickering candle light was fading too._

 _She barely felt an arm reach into her chest. Little more than a gasp left her lips as the life was torn from her. As far as she was concerned, this was only a technicality. The pain of holing Klaus' dead body was worse than the pain of Marcel ripping out her own heart._

 _K felt hollow inside. She felt nothing but an incredible, piercing, all encompassing anguish pulsate through her body. He was gone. The only man she ever loved, was gone._

K shot awake with a loud gasp. She was covered in a cold sweat. Her body ached and the throbbing in her chest wouldn't stop. K clutched her heart as her face twisted in pain. It felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest coupled with someone jabbing hot, searing pokers into every nerve.

She struggled for a moment to catch her breath and will the pain away. It took too long in her mind, but slowly began to dwindle until it finally returned to the same throb it always was.

With a steadying, deep breath, K opened her eyes again. She took in her surroundings. She was in her room, in her bed, and Klaus was still missing.

Whimpering caught her attention. K glanced to the corner of the room and saw Hope standing in her crib. Her face was twisted too and it looked like she was about to start crying. K knew why. This wasn't the first time K's nightmares and curse had woken the infant.

Throwing the blankets off her legs, K approached the crib.

"Shhh, now." She cooed as she lifted the young girl into her arms. "It's alright. Just a nightmare."

K cradled Hope to her chest and moved once more to her bed. She tossed her pillows against the headboard so she could sit up, slipped into bed and positioned Hope so she could lie back against her chest.

"There," she said softly. K tenderly stroked Hope's cherub-like cheek to calm her. "Go back to sleep, sweetheart."

K gently bounced the little one in her lap and hummed one of the hundred songs she'd sung Hope through the months. As she did, Hope began to drift once more. It would be easier for her. Sleep wouldn't come to K again that night, however. It never came after those dreams.

Despite her eyes being wide open and focused lazily on the pale taupe wall across the room, she could still clearly see Klaus. She could see the look of horror and fear as Marcel tore out his heart. She could see him dying in her arms and begging she find him.

Her eyes began to water and when she blinked the tears drifted. There was no way for her to know if Klaus was alive. Not really, at least. Their sire bond was broken and the pain K felt from Tunde's blade was ambiguous enough that it may not even be from that anymore. Freya had numbed her, but to what degree? Was the pain she felt the cursed blade, or Klaus' death?

K's eyes fell shut and her brows furrowed. The ache in her chest grew worse, but not for either of those reasons. She never thought she could miss someone so badly.

 **AN: Hey guys! I hope you liked it and let me know what you think. I have NO idea when I'll update again, but I hope to at least put up tidbits here and there. So, if you're interested, be sure to follow so you can stay apprised of my random updates if/when they happen. Thanks and I hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN** : I am soooo going to regret uploading these. lol. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

 **Chapter 2**

Six Months after Marcel:

Hayley and K had decided to take turns watching Hope. One would go on her search while the other remained with the youngest Mikaelson.

K was sitting on the couch of the small apartment they called home. She'd begun writing Klaus letters in another journal she bought a few months ago. She had wanted to keep him updated as much as possible. There was no telling how long he'd be in his slumber so he could miss a few years or all of Hope's life. Either way, she wanted to give him what she could.

Another jolt of ache raced through K's body. She gasped, groaned and clutched her chest. A light whimper left her lips and drew the eye of the little girl coloring on the floor. Hope watched as K waded through another fit.

Eventually it ebbed like all the ones before it. They came in random intervals, but she would experience at least one or two a day alongside the continuing ache.

When she opened her eyes, K saw Hope staring at her through her father's eyes. It hurt more than the cursed blade, but she smiled regardless. Hope seemed to relax and went back to scribbling uncontrollably in her coloring book. K went back to the journal in her lap.

 _She's grown_. K wrote. _She's grown so much in such a short time and her walking has turned to running. Thank you for giving me the speed needed to catch her._ K smiled softly at that comment, but it faded easily enough. _I still tell her the stories at night, the ones of you, Rebekah, Kol, Elijah and Freya. I promise she will continue to know her family, if even just in story form._

 _Hayley is searching for someone who knows anything about the poison in Freya's body. I'd thought originally it would be the easiest to cure first since the real-world could hold answers. Evidently, Lucien's love of mixing toxins extends to everything._

K's pen hovered over the page for a moment. She caught sight of the glittering blue gem on her finger and turned her hand to better see it. While she hadn't removed her rings once, she had wanted to often. It was painful to see them knowing Klaus was nestled away tightly somewhere and guarded by a ferocious, vicious monster.

 _I miss you Nik, every day._ She wrote. _And will continue to until you're home._

 _Farewell for now._

 _K_

She set the ribbon marker back into the book and closed it. As K set it on the end table beside her, a clock chimed the late hour. It was 9:30 and someone's bed time.

K rose and headed for the toddler on the carpet. She laid down on her stomach beside Hope who immediately offered her a crayon. K took it and began to color in the grass of the outlined picture.

"It's time for bed, little one." She said as she colored.

Hope began to shake her head widely from side to side. She didn't look up and continued to draw large purple circles through the cow on the page.

"Yeeees," K continued. "It's time to go to sleep."

Hope continued to shake her head from side to side, but added a very emphatic, _no, no, no, no, no,_ like a cadence meant to frighten K away.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes." K replied easily. She tossed the crayon into the plastic tub that held all of Hope's coloring tools and stood.

In one fail swoop, K lifted Hope into her arms and the toddler immediately voiced her anger with it.

"NO!" she squealed in a loud, shrill voice.

"Yes," K mockingly whined as she took Hope into the bathroom.

When there, she set her down on the short stool both women had purchased so Hope could see herself in the mirror. Hope pouted and her eyes welled with tears like she was about to start crying.

They were having a standoff, which wasn't uncommon with such a young child. K could wait, but she wasn't going to.

K dipped down and began to kiss Hope in the crook of her neck, making ridiculous noises –a bit like a snorting sound- which always caused Hope to start laughing and squirm because it tickled. K would often have to 'smother her in kisses' just to break her tantrums, or tickle her or make faces. Again, it wasn't uncommon with a child her age.

Smiling –both of them now- K reached for Hope's tiny toothbrush and put a tiny dollop of paste on it. She ran it under the tap for a moment and handed it to Hope who began to happily –albeit sloppily- brush her own teeth. She didn't quite have the dexterity for it just yet, but that was okay. These were her 'practice' teeth.

When she was done and rinsed her mouth, K held her hand and guided her to K's bedroom where she changed her clothes and jumped into K's bed. Being so mobile –even now- they hadn't gotten Hope a big girl bed just yet. Soon, but not yet. So she'd fall asleep with whichever of them was home and then be put in her crib. Although, soon they'd have to get Hope a bed anyway. She was growing so fast.

K smiled and slipped into bed beside the little one nestling beneath the blankets. She adjusted herself to sit against the headboard and let Hope get comfortable before the story began. Every night, without fail, she was told a story.

"Once upon a time," K began as Hope nuzzled herself against the vampire. K reached for the Knight that rested on the bedside table and held it in her fingertips. "There were five siblings whose love of family was unrivaled." Hope reached for the Knight and K let her take it. Instead, she wrapped her arm around the child and began to tenderly play with her hair while Hope played with the toy. "Many feared the siblings, and hated them, for they were jealous. They were jealous of the siblings' devotion to one another and their willingness to sacrifice everything for each other.

"One by one, their enemies came for them. They tried anything they could to break the siblings apart, to drive them away, but all it did, was pull them closer together. One by one, their enemies fell, like drops of water against stone.

"Until _he_ came.

"This foe was unlike any others. He was stronger and faster and crueler than any who came before him because unlike them, he once loved the siblings too. He thought himself their family, but was unprepared for what they'd do to defend one another. In his pain, he was driven mad.

"Hoping to cure him, the eldest sister tried to weave her magic. He sent a spy after her and with a dose of poison, the first sibling fell. Trying to defend their family, the brothers attacked their foe. With gnashing teeth, and a fierce roar, the foe took them, and the second and third sibling perished. At seeing what happened, the youngest sister intervened for she loved their foe once, more than the others, and hoped to save them all. But what they didn't know was the youngest sister was plagued with a horrible curse that clouded her mind. Soon, it took her and the fourth sibling fell.

"Left on his own, the last brother confronted his enemy, the one he once called friend and son. They yelled at one another, spoke cruel and mean words about betrayal and their pain.

"Wanting to rid himself of the final brother, the foe struck him down with a wicked blade, but what he didn't know was that the brother wasn't alone. His siblings had remained and had been plotting.

"You see, the last brother knew what had to be done to save his siblings. He knew he had to sacrifice himself so they could live to fight another day.

"Using her magic, the eldest sister bound the siblings together. All at once, they fell into a deep sleep.

"And there they wait, for the day the spell will be lifted and they can once again be reunited."

K looked down at the one beside her. Hope had drifted into her own slumber. Gently and sure not to jostle her, K slid out of the bed. Later, if she could sleep that night, K would put Hope in her crib, but until then, the little one could stay where she was.

She made her way into the living room to make herself a drink. When she rounded the corner, K saw Hayley was sitting on the couch with a despondent look on her face. She continued to their wet-bar and poured a drink for the both of them.

Returning to the couch, K handed one off and took her seat.

"Thanks." Hayley said in a voice that matched her expression. She took a sip before adding, "You really think it's a good idea to tell her that story?"

K shrugged a single shoulder.

"Doing it early makes it easier to explain when she's older." K replied. "Makes it palatable."

They sat in silence and finished their drinks. Eventually K asked what Hayley had managed to find out. It wasn't fruitful.

~!~

Nine and a half months After Marcel:

Hope was led into the dinning room holding the index finger of each of her guardians.

"Happy Birthday!" Hayley and K cried out in unison as they rounded the corner.

Streamers hung from nearly everything and pink balloons dotted the scene. A cake rested in the middle of the small kitchen table, elaborately decorated and sporting a large number '3' candle. It seemed hard to believe. Hope was 3.

"Yay!" she squealed as she clapped her hands.

She ran for the table and began to clamor to get into the chair. K came up behind her, lifted her up and set the little girl into her booster seat while Hayley retrieve a lighter. She lit the candle and immediately Hope took in a deep breath. She had every intention of blowing it out right then.

"Wait, wait, wait," K chastised softly, "Picture first, okay?"

Hope let out the breath like a huff which caused both Hayley and K to smile. Standing, K reached for her camera and began to set the timer. She walked across the room, checked the zoom, placement, -all the boring stuff- and set it on the windowsill across from them.

"Say cheese," Hayley said as she and K took a side of Hope each.

The little beauty between them put her hands on the table, stood in her seat, and smiled so wide you could count her teeth from across the room. A moment later there was a flash and the picture was captured. K rose to check it.

"I'ma see!" Hope demanded happily. She seemed to love seeing herself and everyone else in pictures after they were taken.

Smiling to herself, K returned to their sides and turned the camera around to show both Hayley and Hope the illuminated screen with the three of them immortalized.

"You're so pretty in your dress." Hayley beamed. "Ok, now blow out the candle."

Still standing in her seat, Hope did just that. Again, Hayley and K cheered and clapped causing Hope to do the same. It was a wonderful moment of normalcy. They needed this.

K pulled the cake aside to cut it while Hayley retrieved the presents. The two of them had grown so accustomed now to caring for Hope on their own that they moved like a ballet most of the time. Everything was practiced and familiar.

"Okay," Hayley said as she held a small stack of gifts. K appeared in the doorway to the kitchen holding two plates of cake. "You want cake first, or presents first?"

It was like _Sophie's Choice_ for the poor girl. She looked from one treat to another like it was the most excruciating thing in the world to decide. Eventually, after much internal turmoil, Hope chose the sweet cake.

Hayley set the gifts down in the forth and empty chair while K gave both her and Hope some cake. She sat at the table without any for herself.

"Mama eat cake." Hope demanded.

They had to look at her to know who she was talking to. It was K.

"Mama Kali can't eat food, remember?" Hayley said.

Both of them were mama to the little girl for the time being. Words with more than two syllables were difficult and trying to explain the difference between step-mother and mom was too complicated just yet. Later, just not yet.

It hurt Hayley at first when Hope called K mama too, but she realized that in many ways the vampire was. Not only was she Hope's step-mother in reality, but she cared for the child for the majority of her life –diapers, feedings, putting to bed, etc- so of course, in her mind, K would also be mom. Besides, Hayley thought it would be a little insulting to tell Hope to call her 'aunt' K.

"Scary face." Hope said when she looked to K. The vampire smiled wickedly and leaned forward. "Scary face, scary face." The little girl demanded.

K laughed lightly before doing as the birthday girl demanded. K's features shifted and her eyes went bloodshot. She hooked her fingers in the corners of her mouth, pulled her lips back obnoxiously to reveal her fangs and growled like an idiot.

Hope erupted into laughter. Smiling, K returned to normal and looked to Hayley who was busy rolling her eyes.

Some time ago, both agreed that –like with her bedtime stories- it would be a good idea to introduce Hope to their world early on. If they made it seem unthreatening at first, she wouldn't be afraid of what her own family could do. But as with anything, they were sure to tell her that there were bad monsters too.

As far as Hope knew, Mama Kali was a vampire which meant she could make a scary face and didn't eat food. Mama (Hayley) was a hybrid which meant she could make a scary face too, but she ate people food. That was all Hope needed to know right now.

Hope and Hayley ate their cake while K sat back and watched. A few times, Hope would haphazardly offer K a chunk on her children's fork and what could K do but gobble it up and make yummy noises, like any respectful adult vampire of 1001 years old would do.

Hayley's eyes drifted to a shelf behind K. It was the top of the half-wall dividing the dinning room from the kitchen and on it sat a picture of everyone. Every time either of them saw it, it broke their hearts.

"It doesn't feel right." Hayley mumbled.

K was wiping some of the frosting off her cheek where Hope had stuck her with cake when she looked up. She followed Hayley's line of sight and saw the picture. Her heart sank. She knew Hayley meant it didn't feel right celebrating without everyone else.

"We had Christmas." K said sadly. She turned again to look at the hybrid. "We had Christmas."

And they did. It was the one and only time all of them, ALL of them, were together. Well, perhaps not Kol, but to be fair, he was dead at the time.

The picture was taken by Cami. All of the women sat together on the ornate couch, while the men were behind them. From left to right, it was K, Hayley with Hope in her lap, then Rebekah and Freya. All of them sat with their knees together, backs straight and turned towards the 'center' of them like a proper photo.

Behind K, stood Klaus. He had wanted to put his hand on her shoulder, but their relationship was 'rocky' at the time and being in his spot put him both by K and his daughter. Jackson stood next to Klaus and behind Hayley and behind both Rebekah and Freya stood Elijah. It was a wonderful picture to have, but heartbreaking given their current circumstance.

Knowing there was nothing they could do about it at that moment, K and Hayley returned their attention to Hope.

After devouring her piece of cake –faster than a girl her size should have- Hope demanded her presents like any sensible three year old.

She got three presents and that was all. She didn't know any different or that if the Mikaelsons were around they'd have given her enough to fill the small apartment they were living in. All Hope knew was she loved what she got.

Hayley had given her more coloring books and a pair of children's skates that Hope saw on TV and wanted. Both Hayley and K were fairly certain Hope didn't know exactly what they were for, but it didn't stop her mother from getting them.

Next came K's gift which wasn't wrapped, just hidden in a bag. Hope pulled out the stuffed animal and immediately squeezed it with all the love a toddler gives their toys.

"It's your mommy!" K said happily.

She was met with a glare from Hayley and a middle finger, cleverly disguised from the child as Hayley used it to scratch her nose. K saw it and laughed.

Sure enough, hidden in the bag, was a plush, stuffed wolf. The little dog was in a sitting position and the typical, overly soft, white and grey color. It was adorable and perfect for hugging, which Hope did happily.

"The coloring's off though." K jabbed lightly.

"I hate you," Hayley said, " _So_ much."

Hayley was as serious as K was, which wasn't at all. They were just teasing like they tended to.

~!~

Later that night came bedtime. After cake and presents and taking Hope to the park so she could test out her skates, the littlest wolf was exhausted.

Hayley took Hope into her room where the child's bed was sitting. Hope had finally gotten her own big-girl bed a month ago when she became much too big for the crib.

Hope crawled into bed and Hayley kissed her, said goodnight, and stepped aside so K could not only do the same, but tell the little girl another bedtime story.

"Okay," she said softly as she took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Which story would you like to hear tonight, my little darling?"

Hope clung to her brand new wolf as she thought. She looked down at her toy and the story came to her immediately.

"About the wolf king." She said.

"All right." K smiled.

Behind her, Hayley had taken a seat on her own bed. She liked K's stories too. Sometimes it amazed her how K was able to adapt their life into fairytales. And the Wolf King was Hope's favorite. It seemed fitting since Klaus was the subject.

K thought for a moment about a story she could tell. She never wrote any of them down, but a few she'd told so many she knew by memory at this point. Still, not all of the phrasing remained the same. It helped though, that they were all based on reality.

But as she thought of which story to tell the little girl with her father's eyes, she remembered something Klaus had told her in the letter. A story began to form, one she hadn't told before.

"Long ago," she began in a soft voice, "There was a young king. Once he was kind and caring, but through the loss of someone dear, he became cold and cruel. Years passed and eventually the young king withdrew to his castle. He saw no joy in life and lamented those who did. Soon, he swore that if he couldn't find happiness, no one in his kingdom would.

"The only joy in his life only came from causing those around him misery and pain and still it wasn't enough. The young king craved more power, to be more fearsome and terrifying.

"Through the help of his still-loyal family, the young king was given a spell to turn him into the fearsome Wolf King he was prophesized to become. Hearing the news, few in the village knew they had to stop him. Witches, vampires and humans alike came together to stop the tyrant king.

"The night of the spell came and the villagers attacked. The witches controlled the winds and together, brought the young king to his knees. While he looked out onto the sea of faces that had plotted his demise, his eyes fell to one in particular. Hidden within those who had sought to destroy him, was the young girl from a lifetime ago, the one he thought lost for eternity.

"But what should have been a happy reunion was anything but. You see, the girl didn't remember the young king or their time together. Her mind had been enchanted and her memories taken. She knew nothing of the kind young king, only the cruel man he'd become."

K looked down and noticed Hope had slipped into sleep. Perhaps she'd finish the story tomorrow night. Evidently, Hope was simply exhausted.

K smiled softly, adjusted the blankets around the little girl and stood. After placing a light kiss on the birthday girl's forehead, both she and Hayley left the room. Hayley cracked the door behind her and alongside K, began to clean up the birthday decorations still hanging from everywhere in the dinning room. K pulled the trashcan into the small room and together they tugged down streamers and signs.

"This is so depressing," Hayley sighed as she crumbled up some pink and white streamers before tossing them into the trashcan.

"What is?" K asked as she pulled down the sign bearing Hope's name.

"She's already three."

K laughed lightly to herself and nodded.

"Yeah," she replied. "That's what happens. Next comes four."

Hayley groaned and felt the pit in her stomach grow. Her little girl was getting older and she didn't like that. Her noises, however, caused K to laugh again.

"And they're not even here to see it."

This time K paused. She turned and noticed that yet again, Hayley was looking at the picture of all of them at Mikaelson Manor for Christmas. It made her heart sink.

"I know," she said softly. "I almost feels… _wrong_ , doesn't it?"

Hayley had paused in the middle of cleaning and felt herself nod.

"Yeah," she agreed under her breath. Hayley gave K her attention. "How long is this going to take? I mean… what do we do when Hope starts school? How are we going to keep moving around, trying to find cures and take care of a little girl?"

K's brows slowly began to rise as she watched Hayley spout fear after fear at her. It was completely understandable, but the vampire was a little surprised it took this long for it to happen. Then again, it made sense. It seemed Hayley was beginning to realize their task wasn't a simple one and now without family to pawn Hope off to, she would have to juggle everything.

"Hey," K said as reassuringly as she could. She stepped closer to the hybrid and took Hayley's shoulders into her hands. "Everything's going to be fine, okay? We do what we've been doing. We take turns taking care of Hope and when school age comes, we'll tutor her."

"Home school? Will that work?"

K gave her a gentle smile and nodded.

"Of course it will." Her voice had taken on a motherly tone. "After everything we've gone through, are you really more scared of toddler than any of that?"

Hayley gave her a weak grin.

"Kinda." She admitted.

K laughed lightly and nodded. She understood. K had raised dozens of children through the centuries. This was Hayley's first.

Together, they went back to cleaning up the birthday party. In a week, it would be K's turn to look for the cure and she didn't plan to return until she found it.

The dreams weren't getting any better and neither were the pains from the curse. She was still very much connected to Klaus and wanted him back, but in order to do that, they had to save the others first. Without them at 100%, Hayley and K stood no chance against Marcel.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Hope clung to K's index finger while she scuttled around in her skates. She dragged her feet forward instead of actually picking them up as she continued breaking in her birthday present. It caused K to smile down at her.

The little girl continued to stare at her feet and shuffle around the winding sidewalk in the park for the better part of a half an hour before K made her take a break. It was warm outside and Hope needed it, whether she realized it or not.

"Come along, little one." K said as she guided Hope towards a bench beneath a tree. When they reached the grass, she lifted Hope into the air and made her 'fly' before setting her down on the bench. "I need to talk to you for a minute."

Hope nodded, but said nothing as K handed her a juice box with the straw already jabbed in. Hope eagerly drank her apple juice while K struggled briefly with the words. They had to be simple, to the point, but not too blunt.

"Sweetheart," she finally said. Hope looked up at her with big, glowing blue eyes and simply waited. "I'm going to be leaving for a little while."

"Where we goin'?" she asked as she swung her heavy feet lazily.

K smiled lightly, but it fell quickly too.

"No, little one. Just me."

Hope quit drinking the apple juice. Her hands fell to her lap and her brows tugged together as she looked at K. It was clear for a moment that she didn't quite understand.

"You're… leaving…" she finally said.

Her innocent, little voice was soft and quiet and filled with a growing sadness that broke K's heart. It was made all the worse by the adorable way Hope struggled to say full words. After all, she was only three.

"I'm coming back, darling." She told her with as warm a smile as she could muster.

Hope either didn't believe her or had trouble doing so. Soon her face twisted and it was clear she was about to cry. K immediately lifted her into her lap and hugged the little girl tightly. Hope sniffed and clung to K's shirt.

"It's alright," she said sweetly. "I'll be coming back."

"I don' want you to go." She mumbled as she buried her face into K's chest. It broke her heart that Hope was reacting this way, but she expected it, that's why she wanted to spend the day with the little girl.

"I know," K gently began to rock from side to side to console her. "A long time ago, I made someone a promise." She said. "And your mommy and I have been trying very hard to keep that promise. Now, it's my turn to try, but that means I have to go away for a little while."

"Can I come?" she mumbled. Hope was still pushing her face into K's chest.

"No, little one," K sighed sadly. She continued to rock and stroked Hope's growing hair. "I'm afraid it's too dangerous for you to come along."

Hope began to cry which only caused K's heart to fracture further. She hated the sound of Hope crying, as anyone would.

Unable to do anything else, K continued to sway and gently run her fingers through Hope's hair, consoling her as best she could.

It hurt to leave Hope behind, but K had no real choice. She had to try and find any way to bring the others back. Still, that didn't mean taking the steps were any easier.

In the months she'd been tending to Hope, K grew to love her even more. The feeling doubled, tripled… infinitely multiplied, when Hope began to call her mama. No one had ever done that before and meant it. Sure a few of the young Bennett children had, but their parents were always quick to correct them. Not this time. This time, she was a mother as much as her undead body could allow.

They sat on the bench for a little while longer before K got Hope to her feet. Holding her hand, the vampire led the little girl back towards home and while Hope still scooted along in her skates, the joy of them seemed to have diminished since K's declaration.

When they made it home, K unhooked Hope's skates, set them aside and told her to go start coloring so she could prepare dinner. Still sulking, the littlest wolf did as she was told.

K smiled lightly at the display, but like before, it hurt her heart to see.

She went into the kitchen and began to prepare dinner for Hope. Tonight was spaghetti, a childhood favorite and an easy way for her to sneak vegetables in without Hope noticing it too much. As K diced a few mushrooms into small, unnoticeable pieces, she thought about what she was going to have to do. It had been some time since she had to fight, threaten and even compel. While she was more than prepared to so, it had still been months, nearly a year since K had taken a life or threatened to do so.

Twenty minutes later and dinner was finished. K brought Hope's plastic bowl, fork and drink to the table as she called out for her. Hope came in, crawled into her seat and started eating while K returned to the kitchen. Hayley came home while K was cleaning up. The vampire made the hybrid a bowl, handed it off and finished her task.

A while back, Hayley expressed how unsettling it was to see K taking the 'domestic' route with things. She thought it was weird that K cooked –fairly decently for someone who didn't eat human food- cleaned, did washing and took care of Hope like she was Mary Poppins versus the truth, and told K as much. The vampire only smiled, laughed lightly and agreed. She explained that this was her life for the majority of the passed thousand years. Unlike life with the Mikaelsons, life with the Bennetts was rarely violent and hostile which turned the monster incredibly domestic.

Bed time eventually came around and like she always did, K put Hope to bed. Hayley said her goodnight and fell back while K told her story. Tonight, it was how the evil tyrant Mikael was defeated. When she finished, K leaned forward –still tenderly brushing Hope's hair out of her eyes- and smiled.

"Sleep well, _carissime._ " ( _beloved_ ) She whispered gently. "I'll be gone before you wake up, but if you miss me, just have mommy call me, okay?"

Hope nodded softly, but did little else. She looked like she was going to cry again. K forced a smile as best she could. In truth, she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't cry, too.

"Come here," she motioned for Hope to come closer. The little one sat up and wrapped her arms around K, who returned the action. "I love you, little one."

"I love you, mama." She mumbled into K's shoulder.

When they parted, K kissed her forehead, told her goodnight once more and left the room. She gave Hope a small smile before cracking the door behind her and entering the living room.

"Do you know where you're heading first?" Hayley asked as she handed K a drink.

K sighed heavily and thanked her for it. Just saying goodbye –not even leaving yet- but simply saying goodbye to Hope drained her completely.

"Jefferson Arkansas." She said before she swallowed it in one long gulp.

Hayley cocked a single brow, not only because K answered so quickly and precisely, but because she'd taken her substantial drink like it was a shot.

"Why?" she stretched the word out a hint.

"It's where the NCTR is." She replied. Hayley shrugged. " _The National Center for Toxicological Research._ " She explained. "I'll start there to find Freya's cure."

Hayley nodded. K excused herself to pack.

~!~

Kali knew she'd told Hayley she planned to go to Arkansas first, but that was a lie. There was something else she needed to do, _had_ to do. The hybrid would understand.

Finding a witch to trust was not only difficult, but nearly impossible. The trick was finding an actual witch in the first place. True the task was made easier by K's vampire nature. It was that typical 'predator/prey' sensation and with a witch it could go either way, so a vampire could sense them easily within a crowd. But in that also came the problem. Any real witch could sense a real vampire, too and well, those without issue with the undead species were hard to find.

K had called Bonnie already. Of course the 'newly' resurrected Bennett was her first thought, but evidently Bonnie couldn't help. When K pressed as to the reason –naturally assuming she'd be willing- Bonnie explained that she was no longer a witch. Not only confused, but a bit sad, K pressed. Bonnie went on to explain –in a surprising lack of detail- that she was a Huntress now. She went on to say that K shouldn't contact her anymore. It made her sad to think that Bonnie never wanted to see her again, but admitted to herself that their friendship had dwindled in recent years and perhaps, as a result, Bonnie wouldn't be able to control herself if K came around. After all, the vampire knew something about instinct. Without proper 'motivation' working against it, it was near impossible to ignore.

At the moment, K was slowly climbing the thin, winding and rickety stairs that led to the third floor walk-up. She was in New York –a fun city most times- and on her way to speak to the third witch for help. Like she had expected, the first two weren't willing, no matter the amount of money she offered. K wasn't offended. That's just how things were.

When she reached the door with the crooked brass numbers, she knocked. K waited only a moment before a little old woman answered. She looked at K through dark brown eyes that turned cold the moment she sensed what the stranger was.

"I can't help you." She said just before slamming the door.

K had the urge to push it open or shove her foot into the threshold, but she wasn't allowed to pass. Evidently, this wasn't just the witch's office, but also her home.

"Wait," K said as she knocked once more. "Please, I just need a spell."

" _I don't help your kind."_ She replied from the other side of the door.

K's heart sank and her head dropped. She was angry, frustrated, but sad, too.

She sighed heavily and let her forehead fall against the wooden slab with a light thud.

"Please," K mumbled sadly, "I'll pay you anything, just… help me."

There was nothing for a moment, no sound, no indication the witch was even on the other side of the door to help. K's heart sank further. She pulled back, looked at the ugly wooden slab once more and turned to leave. Evidently, she'd have to continue her search elsewhere.

She began to descend the stairs once more and was out of sight when the door opened. The little old woman remained within the safety of her threshold, but she could feel the waves of sad desperation flow from the vampire even when she was nearly a floor away. It made her stomach turn and shift.

"Wait," she sighed with a hint of agitation. She knew she didn't have to yell because K could likely hear her, and she did. Slowly, K ascended once more until she could see the witch from her end of the hall. "Come in."

The little old woman turned and disappeared back into her home leaving K standing in the stairwell with a confused expression. It took her a moment to do much of anything –confused by the sudden shift- but eventually she made her way into the small apartment and closed the door behind her.

Inside was nothing special in any way. It was a simple single bedroom apartment with the typical bits of furniture, a few photos and a television. In truth, it was a touch depressing.

K's eyes darted and spotted the small witch moving awkwardly in her hunched over shuffle towards the kitchen table. She sat with a heavy sigh and turned her calculating eye to K. She twisted the cane in her hand for a moment or two before speaking.

"Ten thousand dollars." She finally said. K cocked a single brow. "You want my help, ten thousand dollars, vampire."

K's second brow soon joined the first high on her forehead. She was a little surprised, but that didn't stop her.

"Fine." K agreed. The witch narrowed her eyes.

"That's just the base price." She continued. "You want me to kill someone, add another ten. Curse someone, another ten. Location spell, protection, whatever, add another ten." K's eyes narrowed lightly. "Plus expenses."

"Fine," K replied. Her jaw was a little tighter than before, but still she agreed. "Charge whatever you want, I don't care."

The witch continued to eye her sternly. She twisted her cane a few more times before lifting it just enough to smashed the end into the wooden floors with a deep thunk.

"What do you want, then?"

"I need to contact someone." K wisely didn't say who. "Astral projection, basically."

"Are they alive, or dead?"

K hesitated. She felt herself shrug.

"In the middle." She replied. The witch narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Cursed," she explained, "Stuck in some kind of purgatory."

The witch slowly nodded her understanding. K watched as she slipped into her thoughts for a moment before leaning to the side and reaching for a notepad and pencil. She began to scribble and write down the ingredients she was going to need.

"Fifteen thousand." She said as she wrote, "And I need something personal of theirs, a picture, lock of hair, something they gave you. I'll need your blood from, too. Here," she handed K the list. "There's a shop about six blocks east of here. They'll have everything I need. Cash upfront."

K gave her a nod and turned to leave. She made it to the door and hesitated. K glanced to the witch over her shoulder.

"Why are you helping me?" she felt the need to ask.

The witch remained cold on the exterior, but K saw her eyes lighten just a hint.

"I'm empathic." She replied simply.

K said nothing, but nodded once more and left. She knew now why the witch had suddenly changed her mind. She must have felt K's desperation. She didn't envy the little old woman. Empaths lived… well, they lived horrible lives. How else could you classify being able to sense and feel the emotions of every person near you?

~!~

K returned an hour or so later with a large paper bag. She knocked and waited to be let into the witch's apartment again. When she was let in, K saw the supplies had been set up in the living room. She handed the little old woman the paper bag. The witch fell into a chair and opened it to find the supplies she needed and a thick stack of freshly withdrawn cash.

"Take a seat on the couch." The witch said as she removed everything from the bag. K did as she was told. "Personal affects."

That was when she hesitated. While K could have easily brought a photograph, she didn't want to risk the witch recognizing the person within it and simply elected instead to use something that held a great deal more sentiment. The issue was, she had trouble removing it.

The witch had set up nearly everything, but noticed K hadn't moved. When she glanced up, she noticed the vampire lost in thought as she twisted a ring around her finger. The witch felt K's sadness and like before, it made her stomach turn, but she'd grown accustomed to having to ignore others' feelings. Still, this kind of sadness, loneliness, was different. It felt like is spanned lifetimes and given what K was, it very well could.

"In there," the witch said. Her voice drew K's eye and the vampire noticed her pointing to a small stone bowl. "Personal concerns go in there."

K nodded. Reluctantly, she slipped off her ring and set it inside the bowl.

"Anything else?"

K noticed a small knife resting nearby and took it. The witch watched her with a sense of apprehension which one would expect, but K hadn't bothered to even look at her. Instead, she closed her left hand around the blade and raked the cold metal across it. Blood immediately poured into the small bowl and covered the ring in crimson.

She only bled long enough for the wound to heal before removing the blade and setting it aside. K still remained silent as she stared into the bowl.

A rag suddenly appeared in her periphery. K glanced up and took the offered bit of fabric. She wiped off the knife, set it aside and wiped off her hand next.

"Lie down." The witch said.

With the same apprehension as before, K did as she was told and laid down on the witch's couch.

"This will likely hurt," she said with the same casual and unsettling tone she'd been using since K arrived. "And we can only do it once."

"What?" K snapped as she shot up in her seat. "Are you kidding me?"

The witch simply shook her head as she continued to set up the spell.

"You're surrounded in magic." She said simply as she began to draw a sigil in sand. " _Powerful_ magic and what I've got to do to get through it is only gonna work once." She finally looked up to meet K's eye. "You still want to do this?"

K hesitated once more. She thought about whether or not she should proceed. While yes, she very much wanted to do the spell, the thought that she could only do it once bothered her. As she chewed on the inside of her cheek, K felt herself nod. Slowly, she lay once more back onto the couch and got herself as comfortable as she could.

"You'll have until the herbs burn out. I suggest you don't linger."

After a little more preparation, the witch was ready to begin her spell. K's nerves hadn't settled. She knew this would hurt –how could it not when your soul was being ripped out of your body- and she knew how vulnerable she was leaving herself. Truth was, if the witch wanted to stake her while she was out, there was nothing K could do about it.

With one steadying breath after another, K closed her eyes. The witch lit her candles, set her dried ingredients on fire and let the smoke fill the room.

The witch muttered her incantation. The smoke she was focusing on seemed to bend to her will and move languidly through the air as she spoke. With laser focus, she sent it towards K and told her to breathe deeply. The vampire obliged and the smoke drifted into her nose. The moment she inhaled the cloud, K went stiff. She felt her body seize and her back arch the moment the noxious smoke filled her lungs. On instinct, K opened her mouth to scream, but no sound emerged.

The silent scream would have been a horrifying sight to anyone. Seeing someone with their mouth open, their body stiff and incapable of movement and their eyes wide in fright would chill anyone's blood. The witch barely seemed to notice and continued with the spell.

K felt the magic weave its way through her body. It saturated her completely and felt like it was going to rip her apart. It was similar to filling a water balloon too full. At some point, the thin latex wasn't going to be able to contain the water and it would rupture. That's how it felt. The more smoke that filled her, the more K felt her body was going to come apart.

The witch continued and when she spoke her final word, K was given the chance to move. Finally, she was able to scream, and did, loudly. The smoke poured from her mouth as she released the single, long, bone-chilling scream.

Before the sound had finished echoing, K went still. She slumped in the couch, her eyes had closed and she was unconscious. The witch cocked a single brow and simply watched. It was up to K now.

~!~

Inside the dream world, K was greeted with darkness and pain. She felt it in the air, tasted it and even smelled it. It worried her how an emotion could be so palpable one could actually taste it, and it tasted bitter. Her face twisted and she scowled as her eyes danced along the blank, desolate scene she found herself in.

There was nothing where she was, nothing but blackness. She heard nothing, smelled nothing, saw… nothing. The only thing that remained was the pain and it was so strong she could feel it infecting her. Her breathing became short and labored without her notice and her fingers began to tingle. Clenching her fists and relaxing them repeatedly, K took slow, daring steps forward. Her eyes continued to move.

She walked for miles it seemed and still there was nothing. The blackness was thick, like her dream, and all-encompassing. It made her skin prickle and still she tasted the pain. K knew she didn't have long before she felt it too. There was no way to escape it in this world. Avoiding it was like falling into the ocean and expecting not to get wet. Sooner or later, the pain would infect her.

Without warning, a bellowing scream filled the blackness. It echoed around her, filled her senses and brought her to her knees without trying. K slammed her hands over her ears to drown it out, but it didn't help. She could feel it, even in her bones.

The sound continued for far too long. It rattled her completely before gradually fading. Slowly, K removed her hands from her ears and tore her eyes open. Still, she saw nothing, but the pain was thicker now and threatened to choke her.

The pit in her stomach grew and felt like it weighed tons as she pushed herself to her feet and continued on her trek. She didn't know where she was going, but somehow her feet found direction regardless. Time was short and K only hoped she'd make it before the herbs finished smoldering.

Sudden fear gripped her. She didn't know if it was her own or the world that caused it, but soon her feet began to move faster than before. K started running through the blackness, running into the distance without knowing for sure what awaited her.

Pressing herself harder than she thought possible, K raced forward. Another scream suddenly erupted around her. K was crippled by it and immediately collapsed. Her gathered speed forced her to hit the ground hard and roll before coming to a sudden stop. She curled into herself and struggled to ignore the agony that surrounded her, but it refused to be ignored. She felt it stab at her, scratch at her and attack her like it was a living thing.

Before she could stop herself, K screamed. The long, high-pitched and terrified sound soon drowned out the bellowing agony. The scene fell silent again.

Daringly, K lifted her head, lowered her hands and looked around. She pressed her ears and heard nothing, at first. A soft, tender whimper was coming from somewhere close. Her stomach twisted, her chest filled with knots and K quickly pushed herself to her feet again. She ran for the whimper as fast as she could.

Blackness was all she could see. Nothing met her eye for what felt like miles… until she saw it. The small hulk caused her to pause. It was a figure –of what she wasn't sure- curled over onto itself and quivering.

Her steps slowed, but still she approached the trembling figure hunched over on the floor. The whimpering grew louder and she could tell the figure was crying, but she still wasn't sure what it was. While she thought she knew, nothing she was seeing gave her any confirmation one way or another.

As she reached the mass, K knelt down slowly. She extended a worried, shaking hand towards it. There was such sadness coming from the mass, such agony, pain and fear that some part of her felt she needed to console it, but she never got the chance.

Just as suddenly as it had happened the two pervious times, there was a loud, shrill and echoing scream. K shot back from the mass that suddenly sprang to life. It arched its back, screamed at the heavens as though they could save it and eventually –after far too long of the scream- it collapsed onto its side. Like before, it quivered, trembled and whimpered.

"Oh Nik," K breathed.

He looked horrible. His face was gaunt and drawn. His skin was littered with sweat and sickly pale. He looked so helpless, so hurt and so broken.

His pale gray, nearly dead eyes drifted towards her. K felt her breath stolen from her when he met her gaze. When she blinked, she felt tears flee down her cheeks.

"Kali," his voice was as broken as the rest of him.

Without warning, Klaus lunged for K. His hands immediately wrapped around her throat as he took her violently to the ground. She grunted from the force and did her best to fight him off, but despite the weak thing he'd been a moment ago, Klaus found new strength.

He stared down at her with black and gold eyes, bearing his dangerous fangs and growling like a wild animal as he clamped his steeling fingers around her throat.

"Why must you continue to taunt me!" he screamed angrily. "Why must you pick the faces of my family!"

"N…" she could barely get the syllable out. "Ni…"

"I'll murder you!"

Suddenly Klaus reared back before lunging forward once more. This time, he buried his teeth into her throat and tore almost viciously at her. K screamed from the pain and suddenness of it.

Back in the real world, the witch watched as K's throat was sliced open by an invisible force. She cocked a single brow and did little more than put a towel beneath the wound to keep the blood from touching her couch. After she had, she regained her seat and continued to watch.

 **AN: I hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think. I may have to slow down even more (I know, I know) because I don't think the show's airing for another few months... Still, I hope you liked it!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

K fought to get Klaus off of her, but he was so strong, fueled by hatred, rage and pain.

But as he gnawed on her, Klaus tasted blood. His mouth was filled with it and he knew immediately something was wrong.

Klaus shot back from K. She gripped her throat to wait for the wound to heal and moved away from him as quickly as she could. Her eyes were fixed to the man crouched low like an animal with her blood staining his chin and the purest confusion she'd ever seen on his face.

"Kali?"

She felt herself nodding while she continued to look at him in fear.

Klaus touched his chin and wiped the blood away. He looked at his crimson fingertips. Every time he'd attacked the figments before, they vanished within a puff of black smoke only to reappear later and continue to haunt him with images of people he loved. But that wasn't what happened this time. This time, he tasted copper.

He looked at her in horror of what he'd done. He wanted to rush for her again and wrap his arms around her, but he couldn't find the strength to move. He was terrified by what he'd done, disgusted.

When the wound finally healed, K pushed herself to her feet. Klaus felt himself doing the same. Apprehensively –still a bit worried he'd attack- K took steps closer. Her brows pulled together and she was sure to keep herself on edge should she need to move.

Eventually, they were within arm's reach to one another and at seeing Klaus so close, knowing he was there and just wanting to touch him, K reached out. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him as tight as she could. She let out a soft, strangled whimper as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

Klaus didn't move for a moment or two. He couldn't. He was afraid to. Something in his gut told him that this was another trick. Something told him that if he touched her, K really would disappear in a wisp of smoke, but eventually he did.

Klaus' arms felt like they were weighed down as he lifted them. The moment he wrapped them around her body and she didn't vanish, Klaus felt his resolve harden and immediately clung to her. He buried his face in her hair and did his best to ignore the stench of blood in his nose from the injury he'd given her. Instead, he focused only on K.

"I've missed you," her voice trembled and shook as she hugged Klaus. She gripped his shirt and held on for dear life, as though he would steady her.

"I'm so sorry, my darling." He muttered into her hair. "I never thought…"

He felt her shake his head and silenced his apology. Instead, Klaus simply held her.

For the first time since being plunged into his world of torturous darkness, Klaus was given a hint of something better and it scared him more than he thought. It made him panic because he knew the feeling would end and the pain would start again.

They remained silent for what felt like an eternity before it became evident that K was crying. Klaus felt her shaking. He pulled her back to look into her eyes. Gently cradling her jaw in his hands, he made sure she met his eye.

"What's happened?" he asked, naturally assuming something horrible had happened in the real world.

"I can't find you," her breath hitched and caught in her throat as tears continued to glide down her cheeks. "No one can find you."

The amount of distress in her face broke his cold heart even more. He wanted to tell her that he wished she'd hurry, that he couldn't survive being in this hell any longer, but that wasn't what left his lips.

"Cure my family," he said softly, "Protect our daughter. I'll be fine."

K slammed her eyes shut and continued to weep. Klaus leaned forward just enough to press his lips to her forehead. Relief that K was real washed through him as he poured as much into the kiss as he could.

As they remained that way –lost in their little world- Klaus felt another debilitating stab radiate through him. He tried to keep his screams at bay, but it was too intense. His knees buckled as he bit back a growl, but soon the pain came through. K collapsed with him and wrapped her arms protectively around Klaus to try and shield him from the hell Tunde's blade forced him to sustain.

She tried to console him, to take the ache away, but K felt herself being pulled. Fear swept through her. Somehow, she knew what was happening.

"No!" she yelled as she reached for Klaus again. Her hands moved through him to their combined horror. "NO!" she reached for him once more, but she was already fading.

Klaus watched through his lashes, raked with the purest agony, as K began to disappear like a figment. He roared his anger. The rage of her leaving seemed to wash out the curse, but only for a moment. His screams were the last thing K heard. She felt his rage vibrate through her.

K suddenly shot awake on the couch of the little old witch. Her body ached and burned and just hurt as she struggled to come to terms with being violently ripped away from him.

Her eyes shot around the small apartment, searching for even a hint of the hybrid, but all she found was the little old, white-haired woman sitting calmly in her seat. K was breathing heavily. Tears stained her cheeks and blood still graced her throat. She was clearly having trouble coming back around, which didn't surprise the witch at all.

"You'll be fine." She said coldly. "It'll take a minute to gather yourself. When you do, feel free to leave."

And with that, she stood and ambled off into the kitchen to count her money.

K slowly, but surely made herself sit up. She wiped her hand across her face to rid herself of the tears. She had trouble making herself settle, but didn't want to linger either. Quickly grabbing her wedding ring from the bowl of blood, K all but rushed out of the woman's apartment.

She'd gone there with hope of finding Klaus. She had hoped he'd know something about where he was, about what Marcel had done with him, but they never got to that point. She never got the information she needed.

Her brows came together and K fought the urge to cry again as she sailed down the stairs and to the street again. Once. The witch said this could only be done once and K hadn't even gotten what she needed.

~!~

There were few things K took with her when she left the house. She took only a few articles of clothing, her phone, money and the like, and her red journal. As she waited, she looked at one of the pictures in the front. There was one of her and Klaus on the second page.

It was a picture Elijah had taken because he knew K's fondness for them and the memories they encompassed. People didn't realize that vampires had awful memories. It was mandatory, really. Infinite lifespan, normal sized brain. After awhile, some things just didn't fit anymore and wouldn't be remembered without a push. Sometimes it was when the villain returned for their revenge. Other times, it was a photo, or trinket or something else just as trivial.

This particular picture was of the pair from mid-chest up. Klaus was cradling K's cheek, they were smiling endearingly at one another and each had a glinting trail of tears on their cheeks. It was perhaps the most heartbreaking and loving picture K had ever seen. It was also, the only picture taken at their wedding.

Her body was racked with pain as she stared at it and the tears came again without her notice. Despite having seen him –something she wished she hadn't done- K couldn't find him. What's worse, the experience left her wishing she hadn't done it. K didn't want to think about Klaus stuck in that place. She once thought it was closer to Purgatory. Now, she knew it was Hell.

Movement up ahead caught her attention. K gently closed her book and turned off the car. After setting the journal aside, K exited and headed for the giant building in the distance, the one labeled NCTR.

Rain began to fall as she headed for the front entryway. K didn't notice. She was too focused to bother. She had an appointment with the head of research and a vile of Freya's blood.

~!~

 **Eleven Months after Marcel:**

K knocked on the door and waited to be let inside. She heard shuffling on the other end, people talking and moving and waited. A moment later, it finally opened and she smiled wide at the sight.

A young woman she knew well stood just within the threshold. A smirk tugged at Hayley's lips as she leaned lazily against the doorjamb.

"We like our cable company," Hayley grinned, "We've already found Jesus, we know who we're voting for, but if you're selling cookies, I'll take two boxes of Thin Mints."

"Ooo," K mocked a grimace, "The pot-heads down the street took my last six boxes, but I have some Tagalongs if you're interested."

"Those monsters." She laughed lightly.

"So," K crossed her arms over her chest, but their smiles remained. "Are you going to invite me in, or what?"

Hayley narrowed her eyes.

"You look like the kind of person that causes trouble."

K smiled wide and laughed again.

"Sweetheart, you have _no_ idea."

Hayley laughed and shook her head.

"Come on in." she said easily as she stepped aside. "I haven't found anyone to do the barrier thing yet anyway."

K walked through the door and was immediately jumped by a tiny person. She grunted from the force –though it was hardly enough to do anything- and felt arms wrap around her thighs. She looked down at a sea of darkening blond hair and smiled warmly.

"Who's this, then?" she asked.

Hope stepped back and gave K a questioning stare.

"It's me," she mumbled, "Hope."

"Nooo," K knelt down in front of her. "Can't be. The Hope I left was a tiny little thing. You're practically a grown up."

Hope's face lit up with another smile –semi-toothless- and she hugged K again. While she wrapped her tiny arms around K's neck, the vampire engulfed Hope within hers easily. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"I've missed you," she muttered as she hugged the little girl as hard as she dared.

"I missed you too, mommy."

Hearing it in person made K's heart want to skip a beat. She'd spoken to the little girl every day since leaving, but seeing her again, holding her, was something completely different.

"Come on," K eventually pulled herself away and looked into Hope's brilliant blue eyes. "Tell me everything you've been up to, okay?"

Hope nodded happily. She took K's hand into hers and pulled the vampire into the living room. Hayley closed the door behind them and followed suit. It didn't take long for Hope to push K into the couch, leap onto the cushion beside her and demand stories about what happened while she was gone versus telling the vampire anything about herself.

~!~

"Okay," K gently began to tuck Hope into bed that night. "What would you like? A story, or for me to read a book?"

"Story." Hope chimed easily as she clung to the stuffed wolf K had given her for her birthday. She smiled softly and the smile turned sad when she noticed the knight on the bedside table. Clearing her throat, K did her best to ignore it.

"Okay, about what?"

"The Wolf King." She said again without hesitation.

"Evidently," Hayley said from the doorway, "I don't tell them right."

K smiled and scoffed a little laugh under her breath. She gave Hayley a nod and turned her attention back to Hope.

"Wolf King it is."

While K didn't really wish to retell a story about Klaus, she expected as much when she asked. He was Hope's favorite story and she knew that would be the one requested. Besides, it wasn't as though she could really deny Hope anything she wanted, anyway.

"Long ago," K began in a soft voice as she sat beside Hope on the young girl's bed, "way before the world became what it is now, the Wolf King ruled. But he was alone. One day, while walking through the market with his brother, the Wolf King spied a girl running away from a horrible fate. Recognizing her fear, he and his brother saved her and took her home where she lived with them for many years.

"Slowly, he began to care for the girl who had soon turned into a young woman, and she cared for him. And he was happy. But it wasn't meant to be. One night, she was stolen away and disappeared. When he woke to find her gone, the Wolf King went mad and in his rage, laid waste to his kingdom and emerged from the flames a changed man.

"The Wolf King became cold, cruel and ruthless in the years to follow. For a thousand years, his anger was all anyone knew. Rumors and legends spread of his brutality. No wealth, power or person was enough to quell his rage."

Hope's brows came together and it was clear she was becoming scared of the direction the story was taking. K smiled softly and gently rubbed her leg so the little girl would know it's alright.

"One day, while the Wolf King laid siege to another kingdom, the villagers attacked. The Wolf King fought back, but was soon struck down by what he saw. Within the sea of faces was one he hadn't seen since his youth. It was the girl he saved, alive and fighting against him.

"Before the Wolf King could be defeated, his brother intervened and he was saved. When healed again, the Wolf King told his brother of the Impossible Girl, the one he had loved a thousand years ago, standing with the villagers. At seeing her again, the Wolf King set out on a campaign to find out how it was possible and why she had disappeared.

"When he confronted her, he found that she had no memory of him, or their time together. She only knew him as a monster and it broke his heart, but the Wolf King was smart. He learned a witch had stolen her memories and there was a cure. With a kiss, she would remember him again."

"Like Sleeping Beauty." Hope mumbled into her plush wolf as she smiled.

"That's right," K smiled back, "Just like Sleeping Beauty. So, with a kiss, the Impossible Girl's memories came back and she remembered the Wolf King and how happy they were together, how much they loved one another."

Hope smiled wider.

"Years passed, and they were happy," she continued, "fighting any who stood against them as they rebuilt their kingdom. For a time, everything was perfect and the Wolf King and the Impossible Girl married." K felt her smile begin to waver and her vision turned blurry, but she did her best to push the feelings away in favor of finishing the story. "But one day, an enemy came they couldn't beat. The Wolf King sacrificed himself to save his family. And now, the Wolf King remains hidden away, somewhere, waiting for the Impossible Girl to find him and save him, like he saved her."

Hope's little brows came together softly.

"Did she find him?" she asked.

"I don't know." K replied sadly. "The story isn't finished yet, but some day. Some day, she'll find him because she'll never stop looking. It took him a thousand years to find her, so she'll look for him just as long."

The little girl was clearly becoming sleepy and nodded dreamily as she yawned.

"I hope she finds him." She mumbled as she got comfortable in bed and buried her face in her pillow.

"Me too, _carissime._ " K said as she stroked the little girl's hair. "Me too."

K stood, knelt over Hope to kiss the top of her head and left the room so she could sleep.

Together, she and Hayley met in the living room where K could finally breathe. The tears she'd been trying to keep back had finally fallen and she wiped them from her cheeks as a result. Hayley pitied her, but no more so than K pitied Hayley.

Neither of them spoke for a moment or two as they made themselves drinks and took a seat. Hayley wanted to bombard K with questions about anything she'd found out, but also knew at the same time that K would offer up the information if she had any.

"I saw him," K finally said after a lengthy silence.

Hayley's brows came together as she looked at K.

"Saw who?" she asked carefully.

K looked up and met Hayley's stare. In it, the hybrid was suddenly well aware of who they were talking about. Her face fell and her mouth opened, but words didn't come. Too many things wanted to spill out at once that for the moment she was struck mute. The only thing she did manage was,

"How?"

"A witch, in New York." K said. She swished the liquor in her glass a bit before continuing with the unhappy story. "She kind of…" she hesitated, "I don't really know how to explain it, but she put me wherever he was. Do you know what I mean?"

"No," Hayley said honestly.

"We always thought Klaus was in some kind of Purgatory, right? Because of the blade?"

Hayley nodded and weakly shrugged.

"The witch sent me there, to wherever he's being held."

"Oh," she mumbled.

"It's so bad," the words left K's lips like a breathy sigh. She shook her head at the memories and took to leaning against the arm of the chair. She buried her lips in her fingers and looked at Hayley, "It's awful there."

Hayley looked at K sadly as her eyes tinted pink with the promise of more tears. She couldn't imagine how it felt to see someone she loved in that kind of torture. Hayley wanted to ask what it was like, but didn't. It didn't matter anyway. K had begun speaking so she just continued.

"It's just… black nothingness and so much pain…" K was more speaking to herself than Hayley. She sank into her thoughts for a moment before realizing what she was doing. She cleared her throat and sat up abruptly to make it look like she wasn't about to start crying again, but Hayley had seen it. Still, she acted like she hadn't. "He didn't know where he was." She said as clinically as she could. "And uh… it could only be done once."

"Once?" Hayley couldn't hide her disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"

K shook her head softly.

"The witch said that whatever magic Freya used on me –pick a time- meant it could only be done once."

Hayley fell back into her seat as she tried to digest the information she'd been given. K never told her about New York, and it was a lot to take.

As they sat in silence again, Hayley's ears were suddenly filled with the sound of breaking glass. Her attention shot to K the instant she clutched her chest.

K struggled to bite back a scream of pain and bit so hard on her bottom lip that it bled, but she couldn't scream, not with Hope so close. Hayley raced to her side to try and help, but could so little more than hold her shoulders. K instinctively reached out and grabbed Hayley's arms to help steady herself. The force of K's grip was almost blinding and Hayley knew her bones were splintering because of it, but she remained silent.

The pain raced through K worse than it had in some time. It was dizzying, made her sick to her stomach and every muscle tighten. Still it persisted for what felt like an eternity before ending.

Slowly, K began to relax. Her eyes opened and she saw the intense hold she had on Hayley's arms. She had to peel her fingers off of the hybrid's skin and felt guilty the moment she spotted the intense bruising. The deep brown and black marks faded easily once she let go and hesitantly she met Hayley's worried gaze.

"Thanks," she mumbled under her breath.

Hayley let her go and stood back while K tried to wipe the blood from her lips and avoid the hybrid's eyes.

"Are you okay?" Hayley asked.

K nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Hayley narrowed her eyes slightly.

"They're getting worse," she said. K reluctantly looked up. "Aren't they?"

She didn't reply, but Hayley felt like she already had her answer.

The truth was that yes, the aches were getting worse and k felt like she knew why. It had to have been what the witch did –bringing her and Klaus together again- that weakened whatever wall Freya had put up.

 **Carissime- beloved (roughly)**

 **And I hope you guys liked it. I don't know when I'm going to update again. Still, hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Nearly 2 and a half Years after Marcel

Merry Christmas.

T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring –except for the two supernatural monsters trying to put the finishing touches on the decorations before their daughter woke up.

Time continued to move on as though ignorant to the lives it affected. The seasons had turned cold once more and Christmas was less than a day away. It was the 24th for the second time and while a lot had changed, so much was the same. This was another Christmas without family and another year to pass without progress. It was hard not to feel like a failure sometimes.

Hayley was in the process of putting the finishing touches on the decorations while K wrapped the rest of the presents. They'd kept off doing the last leg of the decorations so Hope could wake up to it. They had decorated the tree as a family, but now Hayley was hanging garland and twinkly lights throughout the house to add a bit of wonder.

K was gently tying a big white bow around another present. She made sure it had plenty of flopping loops and was beautifully presented in the middle of the gift when it hit. Hayley heard the stifled gasp and looked over her shoulder to see K leaning forward, one hand on the ground and the other clutching her chest. She dropped the last bit of lights and dashed to K's side.

Hayley took the vampire's hand in hers and felt K's fingers immediately clamp down. Her eyes were slammed shut, she was trembling and breathing in short, painful whimpers. Hayley's brows came together sadly as she held K's hand and gently placed the other on the vampire's back. Hayley could feel her body shaking.

Minutes passed –actual and not imagined- before K finally began to relax. She took in slow, deep breaths and slowly sat upright. Like before, she gradually released Hayley's hand which immediately began to mend.

"Thanks." K mumbled.

"I think they're getting longer." Hayley said as she stood and headed for the bar hidden too high for Hope to reach.

"Yeah," K nodded.

She ran her fingers through her hair and did her best to recover from another bought of phantom pain. She tenderly scratched the center of her chest as Hayley returned and offered her a drink.

"Thanks," she said as she took it.

The pain caused by Tunde's blade wasn't fading like it should have. It was getting worse. Despite the time to pass, K still felt it, and felt it powerfully. Hayley was right, too. Each time she was hit with the ache of it, it lasted longer. Neither noticed at first, but slowly through the months –and with it happening daily- they began to see it. Seconds seemed added to each fit. It wasn't much, but after so long, minutes had been tacked on and she felt them.

"Jesus," K sighed as she sat back again, "What's happening to me?"

The question was rhetorical so Hayley didn't bother answering her. Instead, she leaned against the wall near the dangling bit of lights she had yet to attach and looked at K staring heavily back.

"It should have faded by now, right?"

"I don't know." Hayley shrugged. "I mean, we still don't even know what Freya did."

"I don't mean that." K mumbled before taking another sip of her drink. It had become custom at this point. The fits came so often now, that they had developed a protocol. "I mean…" her shoulders slumped slightly, "Shouldn't my connection to Nik have faded by now?"

Hayley really didn't know how to answer that and only managed a shrug. K sighed. She knew the hybrid had nothing to offer, but had hoped so.

Shaking her head to herself, K scratched her chest a few more times as though it would somehow take the lingering throb away and went back to her task. When she had, Hayley finished hanging the lights.

Birthdays, anniversaries and holidays had come and gone and it felt like nothing had changed. The Mikaelson family was still divided, still cursed and there was nothing Hayley or K could do about it. Why did it have to be so hard? They had immortality on their side, yes, but Hope didn't. She was getting older and starting to notice certain things missing.

While the little girl was happy for what she had, she seemed to sense there was more to it. She seemed to know there was an emptiness, a void meant to be filled and her mothers knew the truth.

The four-year-old was a very smart little girl.

It began when she started asking questions about the people in the pictures. She asked who the blond girl was, who the dark-haired guys were and who the blond man was. She knew her mothers knew because they were in the pictures too, but every time she'd ask, Hayley and K would attempt to change the subject. It was getting trickier the longer they tried to put it off. And then came K's fits. Hope noticed them and thought it was just a vampire thing, or a grown up thing for awhile, but now they were getting worse and she was smart enough to know something was wrong.

Hayley and K had been dreading the day they had to tell Hope the actual and whole truth. It wasn't that they didn't think she would understand, but more that they were afraid she couldn't comprehend it all. It was a lot of information for an adult to take, let alone a child.

The stories helped, though. The stories that K had been telling her for years were laced closely with the truth and would end up help explaining everything, but again, pulling them apart and putting faces to the characters was tricky. They wanted to be blunt and honest. The problem again came with how much Hope could truly take in before there was just too much information being thrown at her.

Slowly. They had to do it slowly.

Hayley and K finished up that night before heading to bed themselves. Hope would be awake in a few short hours and be full of energy when she saw the gifts and lights, so they knew they had to get as much sleep as they could.

~!~

" _He came_!" suddenly echoed through the house in a loud, shrill voice.

A split second later, K's door was thrown open and someone leapt onto her bed.

"He came! He came!" she exclaimed happily as she jumped on K's bed. "Wake up mama, Santa Claus came."

K was lying on her stomach with her face half-buried in her pillow. She opened a single eye and saw the little girl bouncing happily on her mattress, shaking the whole bed like she was an earthquake.

"You should go tell mom." She mumbled into her pillow.

"Ok!" she happily agreed, crawled sloppily over K and darted out of the room. A moment later, K heard her doing the same thing to Hayley and it made her smile.

Groaning and sighing to herself, K rolled over and rubbed her eyes. There'd be no sleeping now, so she wasn't going to try. With a yawn and a stretch, K readied herself to get up completely. She didn't sleep well. Between the mix of nightmares and Tunde's blade, she hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in years, so she was slow to rise.

No sooner than she sat up did K see Hope race back down the hall and towards the living room. She smiled again and shook her head. A little while later, Hayley appeared in her doorway with her hair messed and sleep in her eyes. She looked annoyed at K.

"I hate you." She said before heading on her way.

K laughed to herself, grabbed her robe and headed into the living room, too.

She knew the only reason Hope woke her first was because of the order of the rooms. Walking down the hall, first came Hope's room, then K's, then Hayley's. Being overly excited, Hope attacked K first, but with a single sentence, she was able to divert the crazy ball of energy to the hybrid which was why Hayley 'hated' her.

By the time she made it to the living room, seconds had passed, but Hope was already lining up her presents in the order she wanted to open them. She seemed to be struggling on whether or not to start with the large ones and move to the small, or open the small and happily go to the big. Hayley was sitting on the couch smiling lazily as she undid the braid in her hair. K took a seat beside her.

"Don't forget your stocking." K said.

Hope looked to her before up at the stocking hanging from the wall. It was bulging and hadn't been before. Excitedly, she clamored to her feet and tugged it off the wall -almost taking the nail with it- and dumped out its contents. Both Hayley and K wanted to reprimand her for being so hasty, but what point was there with a four-year-old at Christmas? None.

When she had her presents lined up the way she wanted, Hope turned and looked expectantly at her mothers. Grinning, they each gave her a nod and with a beaming smile, the little girl dove in.

Some of the presents were from mom (Hayley), some of them were from mama (K) and the rest were from Santa. As she tore through the gifts like a Tasmanian Devil, Hope found a couple that weren't for her. They were wrapped sloppily and Hope recognized them as they gifts she'd wrapped. She took hold of both of them and handed them to her mothers, one labeled mom, and the other mama.

"Thank you, sweetie." Hayley smiled.

"Thank you, carissime." K smiled too.

Minutes. It took minutes before Hope was surrounded in gift-carnage. Wrapping paper and bows stretched for as far as they eye could see while random gifts poked out through the mess. They hadn't gone overboard with her presents, but there was a substantial amount. It was a mixture of things from clothes to art supplies to toys, everything a child wanted and hated to get as a gift.

"Open yours." Hope finally said as she played with a doll.

Hayley and K glanced to each other. The vampire gave her a nod so Hayley opened her gift first.

Beneath the wrapping paper was a small box meant to hold some kind of jewelry. Gently, Hayley opened it and saw a thin gold chain resting within. It was short and meant to be a bracelet, but it was the charm it held that made Hayley smirk and shake her head. Right in the middle was a wolf's silhouette. It wasn't dangling like a normal charm. Instead, the gold chain linked to its nose and tail, keeping the wolf flush to the skin and visible instead of left to hang.

Hayley gently removed it from the box and looked at it closely. Still smiling, she gave her attention to her little girl and her smile grew.

"I love it." She said. "Come here," she opened her arms and beckoned Hope closer. Her daughter stood and happily hugged her mom. "Thank you, baby."

"You're welcome." Hope beamed.

Still standing between Hayley's knees, Hope let go of her mom and turned to face K. Hayley did too and the pair waited for her to open her present. Smiling and a little excited, K tore open the paper and was surprised by what she saw. While her gift was a bit heavy, she hadn't expected what she found.

"Oh wow," she mumbled.

It was a jewelry box –she assumed- and utterly beautiful. It was small, but each surface of the octagonal piece was carved intricately. The wood was stained a rich, warm brown, held shut with an aged metal clasp and right in the middle of the lid was an M. It wasn't just any M either, it was the same K had on her locket.

She gently touched the insignia and her smile turned genuine. K looked up at Hope and opened her arms. As she had with Hayley, Hope closed the distance and hugged her mama.

"It's beautiful." K said. "Thank you so much."

"It's for all your jewelry." Hope said as they parted. "And they put the M on it. Like your necklace."

"I know." She cooed. K fought back happy tears. "It's perfect."

"Go play with your toys, sweetie." Hayley said.

With a nod, Hope happily went back to all of her brand new shiny things leaving K and Hayley on the couch.

"This could not have been easy to find." K said under her breath so Hope wouldn't hear them talking.

"Not really, no." Hayley admitted. "But she wanted to give you something for all of your jewelry." K cocked a brow and pointed to the M. Hayley shrugged. "She wanted it to look like your necklace."

The pair shared a smile. Hope really was a sweet little girl.

~!~

In the middle of Christmas dinner –which was little more than roasted chicken and veggies- K had another fit. She was in the kitchen and gripping the counter top. When Hayley heard the surface creak loudly, she rose and took K's hands again so she could ride out the pain without breaking anything. After a few moments and the pain ended, the pair returned to the table. Hope had stopped eating and was looking at K with fear in her eyes. It broke the vampire's heart.

"Are you okay?" she asked softly.

K forced a smile and nodded.

"I'm fine, sweetheart." She replied. Hayley shot her a sideways glance as she regained her seat and K seemed to know what it meant. "Remember when you asked what they were?" K asked Hope. The little girl nodded. "Do you still want to know?" Hope nodded reluctantly, but nodded nonetheless. "Ok. Mama is connected to somebody." She was going to have to be strangely vague and blunt too. Strange combination.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if he gets hurt, I feel it. Or if I get hurt, he feels it. Do you understand?" Hope nodded. "Well, he's being hurt right now."

Her brows came together and she looked sad as she stared back at K.

"Can you help him?"

K and Hayley smiled sadly.

"We're trying." Hayley said. "But it's not that easy."

"He's being cursed." K continued. "And thanks to a friend, I only feel it sometimes, but it's getting stronger so it hurts more. That's what that is."

"Are you okay?"

Hope looked like she was becoming truly frightened and that wasn't what K or Hayley wanted.

"Oh sweetie," K gently took Hope's hand. "I'm fine. It only hurts sometimes and as soon as we find the person I'm connected to and we save him, everything will go back to normal."

Hope was nodding slowly and she took in the information. Both women wondered just how much of it she truly understood.

"I'm a vampire remember?" K smiled. "Nothing can hurt me."

Hope slowly began to smile too and nodded. While K had openly lied about being un-hurt-able, she didn't want the child to worry. There was no reason to scare her and when she was a little older, Hayley and K would explain things a little further.

~!~

Later that night, after Hope was in bed and Hayley and K had done the same, the vampire reached for the small journal she was keeping. With a sigh, K flipped half-way through its pages before coming to the blank ones. As she had before, she wrote the date at the top and began the letter.

 _Nik,_

 _It's Christmas, again, the second without any of you. Hope is four now, five in a few months and she's growing. She's so smart and sweet. Thank god she's nothing like any of us._

She smiled lightly at the comment and hoped he took it as the joke it was meant to be. Though, a bit of truth was definitely mixed in as well.

 _It feels like the cures are always just out of reach and I fear Hayley may be looking for them on her own soon. The pain from Tunde's blade remains and seems to be growing stronger. I think the witch that helped me see you broke whatever barriers Freya put into place. It's like she punched a hole in the damn. Slowly, the pressure it building behind the leak and eventually the wall is going to come down. I don't know how much longer I'll be helpful. I hope it's just long enough._

K felt her eyes begin to water again and her pen hesitated.

 _I'm sorry I had to leave you there. I'm so, so sorry._

She had to stop herself from writing lines of the same phrase. K buried her face in her hands and fought back the tears. She took in one quivering breath after another before solidifying her resolve and continuing the short letter.

 _I love you Nik, and I hope I see you again soon._

 _~K_

With another shaky sigh, K placed the ribbon bookmark back into place and set the journal on her bedside table next to her new jewelry box. She flipped off her light and sank into bed, but already knew sleep wouldn't be easy.

~!~

In the Alternate World

Thanks to Freya's spell, time moved slowly within the world she'd created and as a result, they'd been having the same argument for years despite the minutes it was to them.

"They bloody got married?" Rebekah snapped. "Without me?"

"It was a lovely ceremony." Elijah smirked.

She shot him an evil stare.

"I officiated." Freya reluctantly admitted.

"Unbelievable." Rebekah threw her arms into the air. "One of us finally takes the plunge – _Nik_ no less- and I'm stuck being daggered in a box while everyone else gets to attend."

"I wasn't there." Kol freely chimed with a smile of his own.

Rebekah sighed obnoxiously and rolled her eyes in response. She fell lazily into the nearest chair which happened to be beside the smirking brother. She ignored Kol and his taunting grin.

"Well that simply won't do." She finally said. "They're going to do it again, with me this time, and it's going to be done properly."

Her kin only smiled and shook their heads. God only knew what was in store for Klaus and K when the world returned to normal.

 **AN: Hey guys! i hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you want to see the box, it's on etsy. A company called HappyFlying makes them. I'm not affiliated, but they've got some nifty stuff. I found them just doing a search for carved boxes, lol. Anyway, evidently, the new season won't start until the end of January and that's a LONG ways away. I have no idea what to fill the space with, so if you guys have any suggestions about chapters or what you'd like to read, let me know! i am totally up for suggestions because I have nothing, seriously. Hope you liked it and thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Twenty Years after Marcel:**

Through the large wrought iron gate, down the long winding road shielded from the sun by massive trees and on the other side of the woods was a palatial manor. It was nestled in the center of the property –a mile or more from the fence line- and adorned with beautiful greenery.

The driveway wove around the front of the house in a large circle, encompassing an ancient oak tree that looked like it had been there for centuries. It's twisting and curling limbs hung low and at night were illuminated with sporadic lanterns to give it an ethereal glow. The driveway was also lined in the same dimly-glowing lights that would guide anyone through the dark forest to the front gate.

The manor was of the English style consisting of large-faced walls with gray stones, aged by the weather and tinted green from growing moss. Windows spread across every surface letting in any sign of light through their etched panes. Each was lined with startling white stone letting them stand out even more.

Vines grew up the walls in random groupings. It helped conceal the true size of the manor and aid it in disappearing into the surrounding flora.

A Victorian greenhouse branched off one of the wings. The pitched roof of the two-story structure jutted high into the air. Exotic flowers and plants were visible from the outside as they grew happily within the environment created for them.

The back of the home was surrounded by a stone wall made of the same masonry as the home. It encircled the private gardens and offered a bit of seclusion with an entrance only to the house, the greenhouse just beside it and a single, tall wooden door that led onto the grounds.

A small lake was just visible from the east side of the home. It was nestled deeply within a grove of Weeping Willows, lined with a stony shore, and tucked away from everything else.

The grounds were meticulously groomed to look centuries old despite being barely more than a decade. It was intentional. From the outside, the manor looked more akin to something from the late 18th century and completely out of place.

It was quiet and peaceful and meant to be that way for those who called it home. And despite being over ten thousand square feet, three stories tall and filled with suites versus actual bedrooms, it was quaint.

The silence of the manor was shattered once again with another bellowing scream. It rolled through the massive halls and gathered in the large rooms making it all the louder. Though in truth, she wasn't holding back either.

Hayley and Rebekah each held one of K's hands as she screamed in pain. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt before in her life, which was not an insubstantial amount.

"Nearly there." Freya said. Her eyes were trained with laser focus to the task at hand. "It's nearly here."

Hope quickly dashed forward with everything Freya could need. The young woman was her aunt's best resource since both Rebekah and Hayley were busy keeping K from lashing out.

With another loud, angry and hurt-filled scream, everything went still. K felt relief –immense and all consuming-wash through her body. She fell back against the friends still holding her and did her best to catch her breath.

The next cry to fill the air was soft and nothing compared to K's. Attention shifted to Freya. With a smile, she stood with something in her arms wrapped in the blanket Hope had given her. Her smile was soon shared with the others in the room.

"It's a boy." Freya beamed as she handed the newly born infant to his mother.

The incredible pain was superseded only by the incredible joy she felt at holding her son. A son… K never thought she'd see a day when something so amazing was possible. She never thought she'd have a child for obvious reasons. Vampires couldn't bear them. Never. Vampires weren't living, so how could they expect to bear life?

But K wasn't a vampire anymore. She hadn't been in some time. While no one expected birth to be an option, it was only more proof that Niklaus' blood had changed her beyond repair. Its unique composition allowed him to procreate and now it gave K the same ability. Needless to say, it was a shock to everyone, but after the third or fourth time to vomit blood, and actually being able to taste human food, Freya discerned the reason.

K's body healed almost instantly after the birth and after putting on some pants, she took her son into the other room where the 'men-folk' had taken to residing. Klaus watched from the sidelines as the event unfolded. He couldn't fathom the joy he felt at seeing K holding the child. He was a father again, and this time with K. And to add another level to his pride, Klaus now had a son.

People gathered around K and congratulated her, spoke about how beautiful the little boy was and how cute. Klaus pushed his way forward only to see something that filled him with the most rage he'd ever felt.

A man he didn't know stood directly over K's shoulder with an arm around her and the other gently encircling the infant. Klaus fought the urge to race forward and assault the stranger. The only thing that kept him back was the fear of somehow harming K or the child.

"Who the bloody hell are you?!" he demanded angrily. No one spoke. "I asked you a god damn question!" and still, no one said a word. In fact, no one bothered looking at Klaus.

"He's beautiful." The stranger said. "Wow."

K was still beaming as she looked up to the man at her side. Klaus' stomach immediately sank when the man met her stare and bent down just enough to kiss her. To make matters worse, K reciprocated the action. She gently touched his cheek with her left hand and it was then he noticed she no longer wore the rings he'd given her. They were gone, replaced with cheap, mainstream junk he wouldn't give a popper.

Unable to keep himself at bay any longer, Klaus ran forward. Bellowing a hateful roar, he reared back to hit the stranger, but the action never connected. Instead, Klaus sailed through everyone and only realized what had happened when he emerged on the other side of the group. Slowly, he turned in horror to the sight and noticed not a single one even noticed.

"You should go." K told the stranger. "The full moon rises in a few hours. You need to get everyone together and go out into the woods."

Somehow, Klaus knew the stranger and his pack roamed the manor's grounds during the full moon, where they were safely hidden from the public behind the ten-foot wall that surrounded the entire property.

"Okay," he said. He kissed her one last time, did the same to the boy, and left the Mikaelsons behind.

As the stranger stepped through the door, another emerged. It was a young man –somewhere in his teens- with deep brown hair and nearly black eyes. He was handsome, tall and not someone Klaus knew.

"Did I miss anything?" he asked as he came closer.

"No," Elijah said as he gently wrapped his arm around the young man's shoulder. "He's only just arrived."

As Elijah and the boy stood side by side, Klaus saw it. He saw the similarities between the two, how the young man had Elijah's jaw and stature. How he shared his brother's dark-colored eyes. The pit in Klaus' stomach grew. Somehow, he knew who the boy's mother was.

The family continued to linger for a moment. Klaus' mind was racing and he had trouble keeping up with what was happening around him before the young man spoke again.

"Well come on," he randomly called. "We have to get the rest of the presents."

"Okay," Hope nodded. She reached into her pocket for the car keys before approaching K and giving her a kiss on the cheek. "See you later, mom." She did the same to Hayley and then –to Klaus' horror- to Elijah. "Bye dad."

"Be careful." Hayley called to the pair in the most motherly tone Klaus had ever heard. At this point in time, Hayley was in her forties, but still looked just as she had when Hope was born.

"Come on, mom." The boy sighed. "We're just going into town. We'll be fine."

She only gave him a warning glance, but Klaus noticed none of it. He was reeling.

The elders of the family slowly made their way to the couches and chairs in the den and took a seat. K continued to gently console the now-sleeping little boy just to keep him from waking.

"I wish he was here." Rebekah sighed. Attention slowly shifted to the blond. "It doesn't seem right, not having the whole family here."

"What do you expect?" Freya asked with a gentle smirk. "Our brother's always been a wayward soul."

"I know, but…" she sighed heavily again. "This is still something for the _whole_ family."

Elijah chuckled lightly as he continued to hold Hayley's hand.

"I've already spoken to him." He said. "Kol will be here tomorrow."

"Good." Rebekah nodded. "It'll be nice having all of the Mikaelsons beneath the same roof again."

There were muttered agreements, but Klaus didn't hear them. He was beginning to shake as the sick realization of what he was seeing sank in.

They'd forgotten about him.

No picture within the home bore his likeness. His daughter was grown and calling _Elijah_ father. K was married to someone else –a stinking dog no less- and bore him a child. No one seemed the slightest bit worried about Klaus' absence. In fact, Rebekah, the sibling who had always been on his side, didn't seem to remember him in the least. She was more concerned about Kol's absence than Klaus'.

Klaus began to shake with both agony and rage. His family moved on without him. They'd stopped searching for him. He wasn't even a memory. It was as though he didn't exist.

The images began to fade around him and soon Klaus was immersed yet again in the darkness of his Purgatory.

The things wrong with the nightmare didn't don on him as he was left in paralyzing pain. It didn't matter that Hayley and Elijah could never have children because Elijah was a vampire and not a hybrid like Klaus had been. It didn't matter that K couldn't have children either. The nightmare had hit just enough of his fears that it felt real. It felt like Klaus was being given a glimpse into the real world, not a fantasy created by Tunde's blade.

The combined pain brought on by the knife and the visions he was forced to witness were crippling. As a result, he writhed and moved as it washed through him.

Pain can eventually be forgotten. Receiving the same amount of it over a course of time means it becomes bearable. It never gets better, but it never gets worse either. If you could reach the point where it never increased, you could make yourself withstand it. That was not the purpose of Tunde's Blade. It was meant to find new ways to hurt, new ways to cause the most agony imagined and that included psychological.

It would forever find new ways to hurt.

~!~

 **Just After Christmas: Only 2 1/2 Years after Marcel :**

K stood in the darkened street looking at the six vampires who'd cornered her. Despite them trying to be intimidating, K was little more than annoyed she was being stopped in the first place. With her hands on her hips, she simply waited for someone to speak.

They'd appeared out of the shadows, slowly slinking into sight like they were the predators. They couldn't be more wrong.

"Where's Klaus?" the one closest to her demanded.

K felt herself cock a single brow as she looked at them. That hadn't been what she expected them to ask.

"Why?" she pressed in a calm voice.

The group crept forward and began to move around her, closing K in a circle. She tilted her head from side to side to keep them in her line of sight. A few of them pulled out weapons. She didn't know why they bothered, but assumed it was because they wanted to further 'frighten' her.

Ridiculous.

Her eyes traveled back to the man in the lead. She assumed these must be more vampires from Klaus' sire line. How they found her, K couldn't say, but they had so now she'd deal with it. That spell Freya wove should have kept her invisible. Perhaps going to that witch in New York undid more of Freya's work than K realized at the time?

"What makes you think I'll tell you?" she asked. Her tone was turning tense. She was irritated.

"Cause we'll kill you if you don't!" someone else called.

She glanced slightly to the side, but let her eyes travel again to their 'leader'.

"There's six of us," he waved his hand as though presenting her with his force, "And one of you, and all of us are at least six hundred years old." He began to smirk. "You don't stand a chance. Now, where's Klaus Mikaelson?"

She didn't speak. K couldn't figure out how they honestly thought she'd tell them where Klaus was, even if she knew. She continued to stare defiantly back.

"We know you're his bitch!" another person yelled. She perked and looked at them over her shoulder. "Now tell us where he is!"

K slowly began to shake her head in disbelief.

"I'm no one's bitch." Her voice was low and angry. "I am Kalliope Mikaelson," she began to turn slowly in her spot so she could see all of them as she spoke, "I am his wife," there were looks of horror and disgust through the gathered vampires as she continued to turn, "I am a thousand years old," they began to shift slightly as she continued to declare herself to them. K finally turned completely and let her eyes fall once more to their leader. "I am the Original Ripper," her voice dropped to a threatening level, "and I'm going to kill every last one of you."

Before the leader could order an attack, K vanished from his line of sight. She sailed through the gathered vampires and left carnage in her wake. There were screams of pain and fear as she tore limbs away and ripped hearts from their chest.

The leader who'd gathered them was struck still by terror as he watched the carnage unfold. Realizing he couldn't win the fight, he ran. He didn't get far.

K suddenly appeared in his path. She reached out and snatched him by the throat. His gathered momentum forced his legs to fly out from under him which only made it easier for K to handle him. She slammed his back into the ground and immediately bit into his throat. The leader bellowed in pain for the moment the action took before K pulled back.

With her body pinning his to the ground, K looked blankly at the vampire beneath her. She was covered in blood and not just the blood from biting him. It was splattered along her skin. Droplets formed lines along her face and clothes and her hands were drenched in the liquid. It was no more unnerving than the disturbingly calm look in her face.

"Now then," she sighed, "I assume you're one of his spawn." The leader tried to nod, but her grip was so strong he couldn't. "I understand that you and the rest of your kind want your revenge, but if any of your people come after me or my husband again, or anyone in this family, I will kill every last one of you. Do you understand me?" this time she loosened her hold just enough the man could nod frantically. "Good, now when you leave here, be sure to spread the message, all right?"

His brows pulled together and it was clear he was confused.

"You're letting me live?" he choked out. "Why?"

Her bloody lips curled back as she smiled widely down at him. A low, menacing laugh rumbled in her throat.

"Oh no, no, no," she cooed eerily, "I'm only letting you go so you can deliver my message to the rest of your people, but you're not going to live for long." K glanced to the wound on his neck. She hadn't ripped any skin out, but made sure the bite took. It was already tinting darker than the man's skin. "I'd wager you only have two days before that bite kills you." She met his gaze again. "You should probably hurry."

K released him and stood. The leader of the now-dead gang slowly did the same. He would have run away immediately, but he had trouble comprehending what she told him.

"Two days." She repeated in a deceptively kind voice. "Shoo now, quick like a bunny."

Without knowing what else to do, he sped off into the distance and disappeared. The moment he was gone, K rolled her eyes and started her trek home again.

~!~

K called ahead and told Hayley to make sure Hope was in her room or somewhere hidden so she wouldn't see the vampire when she got home. Hayley asked why only to have K tell her it was because she'd fought a handful of vampires. She didn't have to go further into detail at that moment. Hayley knew K was likely covered in blood.

When she got home, Hayley saw she'd been right. Hope was in her room and out of sight, which was a good thing considering how saturated K was. She gave the hybrid a heavy stare and went straight for the bathroom so they wouldn't risk the child seeing the gore.

K emerged from the shower a little while later and was surprised by what she saw. Hayley and Hope were in the living room. Hope was holding a small cake –with her mother's help- with four numerical candles jammed in the top. It read 1003, K's current age.

She smiled, thanked them after they screamed _happy birthday_ and sat down to have a piece of cake. While neither Hayley nor K were ever in the mood for parties, they did it for Hope. Just like K ate a piece of cake, for Hope.

But with the 'celebration' came the realization that this was just another holiday without everyone else, without the Mikaelsons.

Just another day with the family incomplete.

Hope's present to K was a professional portrait taken at some shop. K loved it and would add it to her journal later, but soon it came time to send Hope to bed. As per ritual, she wanted K to tell her a story, but honestly K wasn't in the mood. Instead, she offered Hope a poem she knew by heart.

 _I was angry with my friend,_

 _I told my wrath, my wrath did end._

 _I was angry with my foe,_

 _I told it not, my wrath did grow._

 _And I watered it in fears,_

 _Night and day with my tears._

 _And I sunned it in smiles,_

 _And with soft, deceitful wiles._

 _And it grew both day and night,_

 _Until it bore an apple bright._

 _And my foe beheld its shine,_

 _And he knew that it was mine._

 _And into my garden stole,_

 _When the night had veild the pole;_

 _In the morning, glad I see,_

 _My foe outstretched beneath the tree._

She said goodnight to the little one and felt herself slipping back into the world that surrounded her the majority of her days and nights. The poem reminded her of Klaus and his unyielding need for revenge, no matter who wronged him. She wasn't certain why she chose it, but almost heard his voice in her mind while she recited it. K missed him more and more each day and had long since begun to lose hope they'd ever find him.

 **AN:**

 **Hey guys! I just wanted you to know that I will update one more time in December and then not again until the show begins in January. I know you don't want to read more about 'background' characters. The show is called the Originals, and it's a little hard to write a story about them without them, ya know? So there will just be one last chapter, then nothing until the show begins again. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think. Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Four Years after Marcel:**

K stepped out of the kitchen with food and a glass in her hands. Hope was sitting at the table patiently waiting for dinner while Hayley was in the other room berating someone on the other end of the phone.

"Here you go, _carissime."_ K said as she slid the plate of chicken, rice and broccoli in front of her and set the glass down beside it.

"Thank you, mama."

K smiled gently and took a seat not far from her.

While Hope ate, K began to scribble down in the notebook she'd been keeping for Klaus. They sat in relative silence for awhile which wasn't strange considering one of them was eating. A little while later, Hayley reemerged, exasperated from the short conversation she'd just had. As she stepped into the kitchen, K glanced to her through her lashes and smiled lightly, but continued writing.

"There's still some food in there if you want it." She offered.

Hayley glanced down to what Hope was eating and shrugged a shoulder.

"Why not?" she replied casually.

Hayley moved into the kitchen and made herself a plate and eventually returned to the dinning room to sit beside Hope, across from K.

"Mom, Mama," Hope said after a lengthy silence. Her words drew her mothers' attention. The little one was lazily poking at a piece of diced chicken with her fork, "Where's my dad?"

K and Hayley felt their stomachs drop immediately. They each looked at one another across the table and saw their own apprehension reflected back at them. While they knew Hope would one day ask about her father, they were surprised she'd done so as bluntly as she had. For awhile, they'd been able to dance around the subject, but now Hope was simply too old to be swayed.

"Um…" Hayley mumbled.

"Well…" K said in the same uncertain tone.

They each shared a silent conversation before turning their attention back to Hope. The little girl was looking from one to the other waiting patiently for an answer.

"He's…" Hayley started.

"Missing…" K finished.

They gave one another a soft nod before giving their complete attention to Hope.

"See, sweetheart," K was the one who began to talk. Hayley was completely fine letting that happen, but K struggled for obvious reasons. There was so much Hope needed to know about her own family that made the simple question one of the hardest things to answer.

K grumbled to herself and ran her fingers through her hair before resting her arms on the table and looking at Hope directly.

"Honey," she began softly. "There are a lot of things that happened, a few years ago… bad things, and it was one of those things that took your daddy away from us."

Hope's brows slowly began to tug together as she came to her own understanding of K's explanation.

"Is he dead?" Her voice was so soft, K and Hayley almost hadn't heard it, but when they did they immediately began to back-pedal.

"No, no, no…" they said quickly in unison.

"No, honey," K said, "He's… sleeping."

K fidgeted briefly again before proceeding. She scratched the spot just behind her ear and decided she thought she knew a way to have this all make sense. Turning, she reached for the photo sitting on the shelf behind her and brought it to the table. It was the picture from Christmas.

She quickly formed a story that would help explain everything, not only the truth, but hopefully show the child that her previous bedtime stories were true. K didn't want to overload her with information. Thankfully, it was because of those stories that K knew she wasn't going to have to completely start from scratch.

"A thousand years ago," she began, "There was a family cursed by a witch with eternal life. While first thought to be a blessing, they soon realized it came with a terrible cost." K's eyes stayed on the picture in her hands while both Hope and Hayley watched her speak solemnly. "The sun was fatal. A beautiful flower they once loved now burned their skin. They could no longer walk into the homes of their neighbors without invitation and they needed to drink blood to survive."

There was a lull in the story and Hope spoke.

"The Original Family." She said.

K looked up and smiled softly as she nodded.

"Yes," she said. K turned the picture towards Hope. "They were powerful, strong and ruthless and through the years, their names inspired fear. The middle brother was driven by greed to break a second curse placed upon him by the witch, the curse that hid his true nature. For a thousand years, they searched for a way to break the curse and eventually did, giving birth to the Original Hybrid."

K gently pointed to Klaus.

"We call him the Wolf King." She said. Hope's gaze shot to her mother's. It was clear she was surprised and while K kept her soft, sad smile, she continued with the story. "Not long after, the Original Hybrid met a young woman who turned out to be a long lost Werewolf Queen," her finger shifted to Hayley, "and had a child, a miracle child, that no one thought possible." She pointed to baby Hope sitting in her mother's lap. "But because of the enemies they had gathered through the centuries, the Wolf King knew he needed help. A marriage was arranged between the Wolf Queen," she pointed once more to Hayley, "and the leader of the New Orleans wolves." She pointed to Jackson. "Together, the Original family and the wolves defended each other from their enemies, until one came that was too strong to over come. The leader of the New Orleans wolves was the first to fall at their hands."

Hayley's head dipped. The others noticed and K felt bad for her, but she still had a great deal to explain.

"What no one knew, was an enemy stronger than anything they'd ever had to face before was hiding in the shadows waiting to attack. He first struck down Elijah," she pointed at the young man in the photo, "The noble, eldest brother with an incurable bite. Next, he sent an assassin to poison their sister, Freya, the witch." She pointed to the blond at the end of the couch. "Hoping to force him to see reason, Rebekah," her finger again shifted, "the youngest sister and the warrior, tried to save her family, but a curse place upon her soon took its toll. Left on his own, the middle brother, Klaus," K felt a hitch in her throat and moved passed it, "your father, sought out their enemy." She lowered her hand and simply held the picture so Hope could look at it while she finished the story. "While they fought, Freya wove a spell that linked her siblings together and when their enemy stabbed Klaus with a cursed blade, they all slipped into a deep sleep, keeping them safe from what their enemy had done."

K set the picture down and scooted just a hint closer to the little girl who seemed to have trouble putting everything together.

"You see, baby," K said softly, "Klaus, your dad, sacrificed himself to keep everybody safe. Your aunt Freya linked everyone together so they could sleep until your mom and I could find a cure for what's happening to them and…" the hitch came again and again she tried to push passed it, but her eyes were tinting pink and Hope noticed. "And when we do, we're going to rescue Klaus, too. But right now… we don't know where he is, just that he's hidden somewhere, sleeping until we can wake him up."

Hope's eyes slowly drifted to the picture on the table. She looked over their familiar yet unfamiliar faces and gradually sifted through the incredible amount of information K had given her. While she knew the other stories and who these characters were (the Noble Brother, the Warrior, the Wolf King, etc), Hope was having a little trouble trying to comprehend they were her family. It'd be no different than someone telling any random person that they were actually related to their favorite TV, book or movie character. It was a little overwhelming.

Hayley and K watched Hope sit quietly and stare at the picture for a few minutes. They glanced to one another and each seemed equally worried they may have short-circuited her brain.

"Sweetie," Hayley said sweetly, drawing Hope's eyes. "Do you understand?"

While Hope was an incredibly smart little girl and nearing seven years old, this wasn't the normal kind of information. It was a strange mixture of things and she was –after all- still a child.

"I think so." She mumbled. She looked back at the picture and pointed at Klaus. "My dad is the Wolf King." Hayley and K both nodded. "And my mom is the Werewolf Queen." Again, they nodded. "The Original family… is my family."

"Yeah, sweetie." Hayley nodded.

She went silent again for a moment before she noticed something. As Hope thought again about every story she'd ever been told –including the one K had just finished- she noticed someone had been left out. She looked at the dark-haired vampire.

"If the stories are true," Hope said, "Then who are you?"

K again smiled as warmly as she could. Hope was such a darling.

"I am the Impossible Girl," She said, "the one he finds a thousand years later."

A small smile began to touch Hope's lips as she looked from one of her mothers to the other. She couldn't help it. She was beginning to realize that her family was like her superheroes.

~!~

Later that night, K was in the process of tucking Hope into bed once more. Throughout the rest of the day after telling her the truth, Hope had been asking both of them a slew of questions, which wasn't surprising.

After Hope had changed and got ready for bed, K climbed in beside her and took to leaning against the headboard with her red journal in her hands. She opened it and began to show the young girl the pictures inside.

She showed her pictures of the family in nicer times, with smiles and happy thoughts. She showed Hope the things that would keep the vision of her family innocent, because they knew the truth. K and Hayley both knew that those images would change once the others were awake. Hope would be forced to see just how scary the Originals were and while it would never be aimed at the little girl and their actions likely needed, a monster was a monster and there were none greater than the Mikaelsons.

Hope was almost too excited to fall asleep, but eventually managed to at least calm down. Hayley and K thought her reaction to the news was absolutely adorable, but they were so thankful for it. If Hope had gone the other way, neither immortal was sure what they would have done.

K laid in bed beside her daughter, pushed up on the pillows and leaning a bit to the side so the small twin-sized bed could accommodate them both. The arm that helped prop her up was also tenderly played with Hope's long, chocolate brown hair. It was a bit of an awkward angle, but it didn't stop her from doing it.

"What's my dad like?" Hope asked as she tugged lazily on the fraying fur of her stuffed wolf.

K smiled softly and continued to twirl Hope's hair around her fingers.

"He's charming and smart and wicked…" K's smile began to falter just a bit as she thought about Klaus again. "And loyal. There's nothing he wouldn't do for family. And he loves you, more than anything."

"Mama…" Hope mumbled.

"Yeah, sweetie?"

She fidgeted with the stuffed wolf (that had seen better days in the years since K gave it to her) and shifted just a bit before asking something she'd been thinking about for a little while.

"What am I?"

K stopped moving. She pushed herself up just enough to look at Hope, who eventually met her gaze.

"What do you mean?"

"If mom's a hybrid and so is dad… but I'm not… what am I?"

K's brows slowly pulled together as she settled back into her seat. She paused as she thought, but there was only one real answer.

"I don't know, baby." She said truthfully. "There isn't really a name for it since you're the first. The Mikaelsons all come from a long line of witches, so we know you're part witch. Both mom and dad are werewolves, so we know you're part werewolf, and your dad is part vampire, so we know you're part vampire, too."

"But mom's a hybrid."

"She didn't use to be. She was a werewolf until you were born. In fact, I think it was you that did it." She smiled lightly when Hope looked up at her in confusion. "You are your mom's sire."

Hope gradually formed a grin of her own. She thought it was funny despite not knowing the mechanics of it. Instead, she trusted K's word, but K was right. The only reason Hayley turned into a hybrid was because she had Hope's blood in her system when Monique slit her throat. Hope was Hayley's sire.

The little girl sank back into her mattress and pillows again and continued to grin as she thought over everything.

"But, nobody can be everything, can they?" she asked. "So what am I?"

K took a deep breath. Truthfully, she didn't know. There wasn't a name for what Hope was, just like she said. There was no precedent, so K said the only thing she could think of.

"You're a Mikaelson." She replied. "And that is more than enough." K leaned over and kissed the top of Hope's head. "Goodnight, _carissime."_

Hope said goodnight in return as K left the room and cracked the door behind her.

K made her way into the kitchen and began to clean up, something she hadn't been given the chance to do beforehand. As she did, K felt her body beginning to tire. It wasn't uncommon. For nearly a year now, K was prone to getting tired much easier than normal.

When she was done she said good night to Hayley and headed for bed. K made sure the door was closed before stripping herself of her shirt and catching sight of herself in the mirror. There in the center of her chest just within her cleavage, was a mark.

K tenderly touched the enflamed area and stepped closer to the mirror. The wound was round, but jagged. It was brilliant pink and red and stood out in stark contrast to her fair skin. She could see the faint hint of grey veins slowly spreading away from it. At the moment, they were only a few sparse inches in length, but they'd been growing over the past few months. She knew what it was.

The spell Freya had used to keep her and Klaus as separated as possible was dwindling to the point it was nearly gone. Her link to the hybrid hadn't faded either. If anything, it seemed as strong as it used to be.

The bright pink mark in the center of her chest was from Tunde's blade. It was there because it was still buried in Klaus. The grey veins were something else entirely. K knew it wasn't 'death' related, it was something worse. She'd been growing tired and turning light grey because Klaus was desiccating. He'd been without food for years and as a result was becoming mummified. And while they were connected and the connection ran both ways, K simply wasn't ingesting enough blood to keep them both healthy. As a result, they were evening out and since she was the only one still awake, she was suffering for it.

She tenderly probed the spot in the center of her chest. The incredible ache from Tunde's blade was always there now. Some time ago, K simply learned how to keep the pain of it from her features and press on. What else was she supposed to do?

If her own desiccation continued on the way it was, K wasn't entirely certain she had another year to give. She was slowly becoming useless and while they always assumed it would happen, K would have much rather it been sooner. Now, she'd spent years with Hope and she wasn't willing to give it up, but again, what else was she supposed to do. It seemed Hayley may be on her own within a few months if they didn't find Klaus soon.

K turned away from the mirror and ran her fingers through her hair, brushing it back from her face and pulling it into a ponytail for the night.

They had to find him soon… or they're going to have to buy K a coffin too, and set her right next to the rest of the Michaelsons.

 **AN:** _Short, I know, but I hope you still enjoyed it. Now, I won't be updating again until the show airs, so let me know what you think and see you then!_


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** And we are back! Enjoy!

 **Chapter 8**

Season 4, Ep. 1  


Hayley's heart sank the longer she stared at the man sleeping in the slick silver coffin. She couldn't put into words how painful it was to see Elijah slowly withering away day, after day, after day.

Eventually, she closed the casket and headed downstairs again. When she closed the attic door behind her, she saw K standing at the base of the steps, leaning lazily against the wall across the way with her arms crossed gently over her chest. She was clearly waiting for the hybrid and it caused Hayley to hesitate in step. K glanced at her sadly through her lashes.

"While it's a sweet notion," she said as Hayley continued down the steps, "I doubt Elijah would like to know you spend everyday looming over him."

Hayley let out a gentle sigh and diverted her eyes from her friend's.

"I know," she mumbled. "I can't help it."

K nodded softly. She pushed herself away from the wall and took a wide step forward. Looping her arm around Hayley's shoulders, she guided the young woman away from the attic stairs.

"I know." she replied. "But we're close, and if the old lady's right, we could have the cure in a couple of days. Then we'll be even closer to being the big, happy Manson family that we are."

Hayley laughed softly before she could stop herself. She shook her head at K's statement and shrugged her arm away. K simply smiled as they continued their trek down the hall.

"You're such an ass." Hayley mused.

"Yes," she grinned, "yes I am."

The two continued to smile as they made it to Hope's room where the little one was sitting on her bed coloring. Hope was so big now, and smart, and beautiful and every other amazing word someone could think.

The sound of an old truck creaked and groaned as it rolled closer. Hope immediately perked.

"Is that her?" she asked the two young women in her doorway.

"I don't know," Hayley said despite the truth. "Let me check." her eyes danced between the pair. "Stay inside."

Hope nodded while K rolled her eyes. The warning was meant for the both of them and she knew it. As Hayley walked away, K turned her attention back to her little girl.

"How 'bout some lunch?" she asked.

"Okay." Hope nodded. She leapt off her bed and paused for a moment. "Can I take my drawing?"

She looked as though she didn't want to stop because she was in the 'groove' and it made K smile.

"Of course."

Hope smiled again and grabbed her supplies before charging through the door, passed K, and downstairs to their massive dinning room table.

By the time K made it to the kitchen, Hope was already coloring again. Musing to herself, K continued her trek.

"So!" she chimed from the kitchen. "On today's menu," K reappeared with a paper towel draped over her forearm like a waiter from a fancy restaurant and her spare arm behind her back. She even used the most pretentious voice she could muster. "We have a very nice turkey, sliced thin and topped with mayo, a bit of mustard, and lettuce, all resting between two pieces of our finest white bread and -of course- sliced diagonally." Hope began to giggle. "And that comes with either a side of Cheetos, or a pickle."

"Can I have both?" she smiled. She liked it when K pretended they were at a fancy restaurant.

"Of course," she nodded. "And to drink, might I suggest a glass of crisp, cold grape juice?"

"Do we have apple?"

"No, I'm afraid. Someone finished the apple juice off last night." she said with a playful glare at the little girl.

"Okay, grape."

"Very good, madam."

And with a bow, K disappeared into the kitchen to make lunch leaving Hope to her coloring.

As she went about preparing lunch, Mary and Hayley came inside. She could hear Hope happily greeting her great grandma, show her the picture she was working on and do everything an excited child would when someone they loved came to visit. K simply remained where she was, took a deep breath and readied herself for the tense situation to come.

A moment later, Hayley entered the kitchen where K was. She went for the fridge.

"Grab me the grape juice, please?" K asked.

"Yeah,"

Hayley dipped in and retrieved the jug along with the bottle of water she'd gone to get in the first place. She handed the juice to K and the water to Mary who'd appeared behind her.

"Thanks." K replied before noticing the wolf. "Hey, Mary."

"K," she said with a tight jaw and a stilted head-nod.

K forced a small smile before returning to the task at hand. The two of them got along well enough, but aside from forced pleasantries, there was little else. K was a vampire and that was enough for the werewolf matriarch to distrust. Throw in that K had willingly married Klaus, and well… there was only so much Mary could take.

But they were polite to each other, for Hope's sake. Neither wanted the little girl to see fighting between family members.

"So?" K asked as she cut Hope's sandwich in half.

"Mary thinks she found the last heir." Hayley said as she leaned against the countertop.

K glanced up at the old woman through her lashes briefly.

"You trust it?" she asked.

"I don't know." Mary's voice remained tight. "About as much as you can."

K nodded. She set the sandwich on a plate and reached for a scoop of chips to set alongside it.

"I'm going with you."

"What?" Hayley seemed a little surprised. "No. I'll be fine."

K shot her a stern, resolute stare.

"You could use the backup." K said. "Besides, someone has to watch the corpses while you're gallivanting around. Might as well be me."

Hayley cocked a single brow as she stared at K. The vampire didn't notice until she'd poured Hope her drink.

"What?"

" _Gallivanting?"_ Hayley openly mocked. "Seriously?"

K rolled her eyes. She picked up her daughter's lunch and squared herself briefly on the hybrid.

"Shut up."

Hayley smiled and laughed to herself while K stepped into the dining room. The pair from the kitchen followed shortly after.

"Okay, my lady." K said as she approached Hope. "Art supplies off the table."

Hope didn't complain and instead gathered her things and shoved them as far to the side as she could. K gently set the food and drink down.

"Thank you, mama."

"You're welcome, baby." K kissed the top of Hope's head softly and let her eat while she cleaned up in the kitchen.

Hayley was accustomed to the sight, but it still unnerved the hell out of Mary. She just couldn't seem to get used to seeing K act so motherly and kindly to Hope. It was unsettling to her.

~!~

When it came time to leave, K and Hayley both loaded up the Mikaelsons.

"Do you _have_ to go?" Hope asked as the pair approached her. "Both of you?"

"Yeah," Hayley said softly. "But we'll be back very, very soon. And we won't be alone."

A smile touched their collective lips at the thought.

"Besides," K said. "We both know your mom can't fight." she openly teased. "She needs me."

Hope's smile widened at the joke while Hayley glared lightly out of the corner of her eye.

"Now," Hayley said to their daughter. She bent down to look Hope in the eye. "I want you to listen to Mary, deal?" Hope nodded. "Good."

Hayley kissed two of her fingers and presented them to Hope. Hope repeated the action and pressed her fingers against Hayley's. Each smiled before hugging one another tightly. Hayley set off towards the truck while Hope turned her attention to K.

K squatted down in front of her daughter.

"Draw me something pretty?" she asked as she offered her pinky to Hope.

"Yeah," Hope looped her pinky around her mama's.

"And keep granny Mary safe?" she added the little jab just as the older woman was returning to their side.

"Yup." Hope giggled lightly.

K leaned forward and kissed her hand while Hope did the same to hers.

"That's my girl." she smiled. "Give me a hug."

K wrapped her arms around Hope and hugged her as tightly as she could without hurting her.

"I love you, carissime."

"Love you, too, mama."

K kissed the side of the little girl's head before the parted. With a final smile, she stood and made her way to the truck. Once she was inside, Hayley headed off down the driveway.

The pair rode in silence for awhile because there was nothing that needed to be said, but Hayley noticed something out of the corner of her eye that she thought was a little curious. It wasn't until she actually looked that she realized what K was doing.

"Does it hurt again, or something?" she asked.

K was surprised by the random question, even more so when she didn't immediately understand, until she realized what she was doing. K had been silently and absently scratching at the center of her chest like she used to when she felt Tunde's blade.

"No," she shook her head and made herself stop, "No, I haven't felt it since that witch made that golem, but… I don't know," she sighed, "it's just weird."

Hayley nodded.

When the witch siphoned the curse out of Rebekah, Hayley asked her to so something else. By then, the link between K and Klaus had drawn her thin. It looked like it was killing her and Hayley didn't want to lose K, too. So, she asked the witch what they could do. Because of the magic surrounding K, the witch wasn't given many options. All she really could do to help was create a golem.

The purpose of the spell was simple enough. The witch would create a clay golem that would be fed both K and Klaus' blood. So long as it was fed, it was 'alive' and the spell that drew on K's life-force would then take it from the golem. The little clay figurine was K's surrogate. Holding her blood and that of the person draining her was evidently all it took. But they had to keep it fed and whole. If it turned completely grey again or broke, the spell was gone.

K was pissed, however. The spell had been done without her permission and Hayley paid for it later, but she knew K would eventually understand. And eventually, yeah, she did, but K begged for them not to do it at the time. She begged to let her connection to Klaus remain because it was the only way she knew the hybrid was still alive. Feeling that pain was the only way she knew for a fact that Klaus was somewhere. Yes the others would have died if he did too, but the pain of their connection was just hers. Childishly, she wanted to keep it, no matter how much it hurt.

Thankfully, with a clear head, K was glad Hayley had done the spell. Now, she wouldn't be pushed into the world of nothingness because at the time, Marcel hadn't removed the blade from Klaus' heart.

So, once every few days, K would put a drop of her blood and a drop of his into the small hole the witch left as the heart of the golem. From there, black would spread until it engulfed the grey, human-shaped block of clay. As the days progressed, the black would recede and then she'd add the blood again before it was gone entirely. So on, and so forth. K was suddenly glad Klaus had left them with a few vials of his blood before the spell. He'd done so in case she was no longer immune to wolf bites, and she was grateful. It gave her something to feed the golem with.

But she'd still feel the phantom itch for no reason other than she knew it should be there. Hayley pitied her as a result. Unlike her, K didn't have a coffin to visit. That pain was all she had of Klaus.

~!~

K stayed behind while Hayley dealt with the wolf. Both knew it was the better option given the likelihood of the woman's willingness to help would all but disappear if K was around.

Bored and lazily listening to the radio for nearly an hour, K was about ready to lose her mind when Hayley finally appeared. Her brows rose as the young woman approached with another thrown over her shoulder. Hayley eyed her, sighed deeply to show her agitation, and motioned towards the back of the rental. K dipped down and pulled the trunk release tab. Hayley didn't hesitate to drop the body within. A moment later, she was in the passenger seat.

"I take it, things didn't go according to plan?" K jabbed as she started the car.

Hayley glared at her again. "Just drive." she growled.

Smiling to herself, K set off towards the warehouse where everything was set up.

~!~

"You have their stink all over you." Keelin snapped angrily.

"Actually," a voice chimed from behind. The young woman struggled in her confines, but it didn't matter. They wouldn't give and K was in her line of sight within a moment anyway, "That stink is probably me." she said casually as she approached Hayley. "You have a knife?"

"Yeah." Hayley reached into the bag and retrieved a blade. She handed it to K while Keelin grew increasingly restless. The feeling only became worse when Hayley retrieved a disturbing contraption.

"Look," Keelin continued to struggle and eyed the vampire with the knife and the hybrid with the… whatever the hell, "I don't know what kind of kiny sex shit you people are in to, but-"

"This isn't for you." K said simply. "It's for me."

"And this," Hayley shook the facemask, "Is just to extract your venom." Keelin's face dropped. "And yes, before you ask, it will hurt."

Hayley approached the young woman while K pulled out a small doll from her bag along with a vial of blood. Keelin's eyes danced from one to the other, but K didn't seem to be giving her a second thought.

K dipped her knife into Klaus' blood and used it to drip a single drop into the hole of the golem's chest. When it had, she licked the blood off and stabbed her finger to add it to the concoction. Quickly, black spread across the figurine, strengthening the spell keeping her sane. With it finished, she set it aside and turned her attention to the pair.

"You have that?" K asked when she noticed Hayley messing with the mouthpiece.

"It's being a pain in the ass." she grumbled. "Here,"

She offered it to K who began to fiddle with it, too. The piece was finicky and it had a temper all its own, which wasn't surprising. None of them had been entirely gentle when they tore them from the mouths of the wolves from Lucien's house of hell. They didn't realize until later that it was the best way to remove the venom they'd need to cure everyone.

"You want me to do it?" K asked as she straightened the giant needles.

"Yeah," Hayley nodded. "I'll grab the rest."

K nodded. When the needles were straight, she approached Keelin. The wolf was understandably uncomfortable, even more so now that the vampire had the 'instrument of death'.

"Get the hell away from me." she spat angrily.

"Look," K sighed heavily, "This is gonna happen, but if you stay still, it'll just be sore. If you move around while I'm trying to do this, it'll hurt a hell of a lot more. Okay?"

Keelin glared hatefully, but it did little to dissuade the young woman. Keeping her eye stern, K approached the werewolf again and whether she wanted to or not, Keelin remained still.

"Open," K instructed. Reluctantly, she did as she was told. K tenderly rested the needles against Keelin's gums just above her canine teeth. She made sure they were in the right place before looking into the young woman's eye again. "Stay perfectly still. I'll do it quick, but you'll feel the pressure."

Keelin nodded ever-so-slightly, but kept her head primarily motionless. K's eyes went back to the task.

"One, two, _three_."

On three, she shoved them into place as quick as a vampire could. Keelin growled loudly in pain, but could do little else with the mouthpiece in place.

"I know," K said as reassuringly as she could. She proceeded to strap the mask on. "It'll hurt like a bitch for a couple of minutes, but that's all we need."

"Here," Hayley handed K a vial.

K showed it to Keelin first.

"We just need to fill this. See? Not so much, right?"

Keelin only glared, but seemed a bit relieved they didn't want a gallon from her.

As the venom began to pour, K slid the tube into the vial and let it slowly fill. Within a few minutes, the vial was full and as she said she would, K removed the bit.

Keelin ran her tongue around the inside of her mouth, groaned and coughed to try and rid herself of the feeling it left behind.

The problem came when she made it clear the two should have left the bit in. She wouldn't stop talking and it drew on K and Hayley's collective nerves.

"You know," Hayley sighed as she approached Freya, "You ask a _lot_ of questions."

Ignoring the wolf, Hayley approached the blond in the coffin. K took her spot near the head of it and their eyes met. Each felt their nerves beginning to fray. They knew that once the witch woke -assuming she would- that they had minutes at best. This wouldn't be a happy reunion right off the bat. Too much had to happen first.

"Ready?" K asked quietly.

"As I'll ever be." Hayley replied.

With a shared nod, their eyes drifted back to the witch in the box. On an internal count of three, Hayley plunged the syringe deep into Freya's chest.

She reacted immediately. Freya gasped deeply for breath and shot up. Hayley wrapped her arms around her and hugged the blond tightly. When they parted, it was right to business.

"Do you have the supplies?"

"Yeah,"

"Good, because if we don't get this cure made soon, Kol and Elijah will die."

Hayley felt her heart drop, but it wasn't as though she was ignorant to the stakes.

As Freya tried to get out of the coffin with Hayley's help, another set of arms wrapped around her. She glanced to the side and smiled.

"Kali," she sounded relieved, and she was. She was so glad K hadn't slipped into the Netherworld alongside Klaus.

"Morning," K greeted a bit sarcastically. "Come on,"

Together, the pair helped Freya out and onto her feet.

"Okay," Freya sighed, "Lets get started."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

While Hayley dealt with the vampires in the other wing, K reached for something Freya thought a bit curious. She'd assumed K would immediately join the hybrid, but instead wanted her toys, first.

What K pulled out of the bag of tricks was a pair of impressive blades. They were actually a bit terrifying to look at.

Narrow blades jutted out from leather-wrapped hilts. The blades were long and thin, stuck somewhere between a sword and dagger. It was curved as well, but not as severely as a khukri.

The steel flowed seamlessly from the tip of the blade to the end of the hilt, with a portion of it jutting out over the grip. The style of it reminded Freya of the very tip of a fishing hook.

They were beautiful and looked so sharp that they could cut the air and she handled them with ease.

"What are those?" Freya felt the need to ask.

"Sicas." K replied as she looked over the weapons. "I thought it was time to get in touch with my roots."

"Since when do you use weapons to fight?"

K looked at her friend and with the most reserved sincerity Freya had ever witnessed, said, "When the Ripper came back."

Freya felt a chill shudder down her spine as K turned and walked off towards the fighting. She found herself wondering briefly what happened in recent years to make K the Ripper again. It was a question she knew she'd have to ask when things were less dire than they currently were.

In the other room, Hayley tore the heart from one of the vampires and fought a few others viciously, but they were substantial.

"You really think you can take all of us?" the leader asked after she dispatched only a mere fraction of his men. "All by yourself?"

Hayley looked at him through tendrils of hair with a wicked glint in her eye and a smile that followed.

"Who said I was alone?" she asked predatorily.

His face twisted with confusion, but he soon had his answer. A thud from behind caused him to spin and see K standing with the decapitated body of one of his soldiers at her feet. She looked at him with a deceptively innocent expression. In one hand was a shiny new weapon, in the other, its twin stained with blood.

"Hi there." she greeted far too casually for the situation she found herself in. "I'm Kali."

He glared hatefully.

"I know who you are." he growled.

"Good," K cooed as she stepped over the body, "Then you know exactly what's going to happen next."

And without another word, the fighting commenced. K and Hayley sailed through the vampires surrounding them, but they just seemed to keep coming. Their numbers were almost endless. When one fell, two more took its place, like a hydra head.

While K delighted in removing limbs from bodies, the fun didn't truly begin until Hayley shifted. The wolf tore through the crowd as K sliced and diced, smiling the entire time.

The fight seemed to last only a few short minutes after Hayley's change. As she devoured someone in the distance, K noticed a woman struggling to reach the car door. She appeared in front of her before the vampire could blink. The withering young woman looked up at her heavily while K smiled back.

"I don't think so." she replied.

Without warning, K kicked the vampire in the chest sending her flying back. Before she had the chance to hit the ground, Hayley leapt forward and snatched the vampire out of the air. The vampire screamed as the wolf chewed on her and with a sickening crack, everything went eerily silent. As K stepped around the SUV, she heard bones breaking and the moment she made it to the front of the car, Hayley stood up as naked as the day she was born and covered in blood. She was breathing heavily as she looked over the carnage.

"He was right." she said. "There were a lot of them."

K smiled crookedly and laughed to herself.

Something shifting from behind caused them both to glance over their shoulders. One of the vampires who hadn't been completely slaughtered was pushing himself onto his feet. Only a moment later, they heard more rustling coming from ahead. Sure enough, another one was standing, too.

"Really?" she snapped indignantly, "Do I seriously have to eat all of you?"

"I can get them." K said as she swished her blades to remove the blood from them. "Go check on-"

Before she had the chance to finish her sentence, the air was filled with the sounds of breaking bones. Both vampires were gone and dead before either Hayley or K had the time to blink and somehow they knew why.

At the same instant, they felt the air behind them shift. Hayley's breath was stolen from her that instant and K smiled. Without bothering to turn, she simply walked away with every intention of speaking to Freya or the others. She wanted to give Elijah and Hayley a moment to themselves because that moment may be all they'd get in the days to come.

When she made it back to the area where the witch had cast her spell, the werewolf was unconscious in her seat. In truth, without her speaking, K found it easy to forget about her. In fact, she already had. The only thing that held K's attention was the blond surrounded by magical supplies.

Freya heard K's approach and turned to give her attention. She smiled warmly and together they closed the distance. K tossed her weapons aside and hugged Freya the moment they were near enough.

"It's so good to see you again." K sighed as she hugged her friend tightly.

"Thank you," Freya replied with the sincerest gratitude K had ever heard. "Thank you so much for doing this." they parted. "You and Hayley… you have no idea how grateful I am. _We_ are."

"Hey," K shrugged playfully, "No big thing."

Freya smiled and laughed lightly.

"Help me with this?"

"Sure." K nodded. "Rebekah and Kol already take off?"

"They were hungry." she said as they began to clean. "Not surprising. Between her curse and his poison, I'm sure they're ravenous."

K agreed and mused to herself that Elijah's desire to see Hayley would naturally outweigh his need for food.

Together, K and Freya gently packed away the spent supplies and were joined shortly after by a nearly-naked Hayley, and Elijah.

When K heard the pair, she turned and smiled softly to the elder brother. The same touched his lips as his eye met hers. They approached one another and immediately embraced as she had with Freya. The witch and the hybrid hugged in the background as they'd been unable to do earlier.

Elijah squeezed K tightly, and she did the same. He was glad to see her whole, to see her at Hayley's side and there for his family, but he was sorry for it, too. He knew that their mission was only half done and while they were reunited, she was still without her partner.

"Thank you," he sighed gratefully as they parted. Elijah couldn't fight the smile as he looked down at her. "Thank you, for everything."

K's smile became tender and she nodded softly.

"Of course."

Elijah nodded as well before dipping forward and kissing the top of her head.

"I'm going to get changed." Hayley said sheepishly.

She reached for the spare bag she had on the table with the supplies and pulled it away as she walked, but with it came something else. So busy trying to clothe herself, Hayley hadn't noticed the strap of the bag had looped around the golem's leg until it was too late.

"No!"

K barely managed to get the word out before the small clay figure toppled to the ground. It shattered into millions of pieces the moment it touched the concrete.

Her heart sank and the room went still. Both Hayley and K knew the ramifications of what was coming. They waited for a moment and when nothing happened, K's eyes drifted to Hayley's. The fear of her collapsing was suddenly pushed to the background.

The same thought seemed to cross their minds at that instance.

"No, no, no, no, no…" K muttered as she raced for the pile of dust that was once a magical totem. "I don't feel it." she said in panic. "Why can't I feel it?"

Her fear was contagious and soon worried the two Mikaelson siblings that had remained.

"What's happening?" Elijah asked as he neared the young woman desperately trying to reform the piece, despite knowing it was impossible.

"The golem," Hayley said sadly as she pointed towards the dust, "the connection was too strong… it was killing her, so the witch that took the curse from Rebekah made a golem as a substitute. If it's broken, she should be able to feel Klaus again."

"But I can't!" K suddenly snapped.

Immediate fear washed through her and threatened to choke the life from her body. If she couldn't feel his pain, that meant Marcel finally killed him. What else was there? Surely, the monster would never remove Tunde's blade, so if K couldn't feel Klaus anymore, it meant he had to be dead.

"I can't feel him," she muttered to herself as she pathetically pushed the pieces into a human-like shape. "I can't feel him."

Those watching could taste her desperation. They could only imagine how afraid she was, how heartbroken being so close to finally having him back.

"Kali," Freya said softly as she bravely knelt down in front of the vampire. K gradually met her gaze with pink, glossy eyes. "Come on," she did her best to get K to stand, "Niklaus is fine. I promise."

"You don't know that." she replied. "We're too close. We're too close for-"

K's words were cut short as she gasped. She grabbed at her chest as she felt the invisible knife slice through her sternum. It hurt more than people realized, but she relished in it. When the familiar, fiery ache pulsed through her body, a soft smile actually formed.

No sooner than she felt the blade did K's knees waver. Elijah swooped in and held her up alongside Freya. The pair guided her to the nearest crate to sit.

"I feel it, now." she breathed.

Freya looked to Elijah and both shared the same confused expression.

"Why would Marcel remove the blade?" she asked her brother.

"To prolong the torture." he offered. "Give Nicklaus a brief respite, then plunge him back into purgatory."

The blond scowled at the thought, but Elijah probably wasn't wrong. Without another word to him, she stepped away to speak in hushed tones to Hayley.

"How can she still be this affected? My spell should have kept her safe."

"It did… at first." Hayley replied a bit sheepishly. "Look, it's a long story."

Freya nodded softly, but didn't seem appeased by the response. It didn't matter at the moment, anyway. They had too much to worry about and besides, it wasn't as though K was unaccustomed to the pain only Klaus could bring.

~!~

Episode 2:

No Quarter

Klaus remained deep within the bowels of his own home with nothing but the sound of his own chains clinking together, and his breath to keep him company. The knife embedded in his chest was a pain he had grown used to in years passed, but it was never just about the pain. Tunde's curse liked to mess with his mind as well.

" _You just had to piss him off, didn't you?"_ a familiar voice asked from the shadows.

Klaus' eyes slowly opened and a delicate, but sad smile touched his lips.

"Kali," he sighed.

The hybrid pushed himself into a sitting position to better see the young woman standing on the other side of the cavern.

The young woman was sitting on an outcropping of rocks with her legs crossed and her elbows resting on her knees as she smiled at him. She looked just as she had the last time he saw her in person, including the clothing she wore.

It was her eyes that always brought him comfort. Despite the soft smirk tugging at the corner of her full lips, it was the brilliant green of her eyes that somehow helped him. They were comforting, familiar and warm. She was the only person in the world that looked at him with love who wasn't forced to through familial bond, so perhaps that was it. Whatever the reason, he couldn't look away as she stared at him through tendrils of hair that had fallen into her face from her pixie cut.

"Hello, my darling." she greeted with a smile.

His smile turned forced. He wanted to keep it for her sake, but it was almost too difficult. Klaus felt his eyes begin to water and burn with the promise of tears.

"I miss you, my love," he whispered, "so much."

She let out a long, soft breath.

"I'm not really here, Nik. You know that." she told him. "I'm just another hallucination."

"I know." he nodded. He couldn't make himself speak much louder than he already was. He simply didn't have the energy.

K pushed herself to her feet and slowly approached the man on the ground.

"That seems to be a pattern." she smiled as she knelt before him. "Dream of me often?" she openly teased.

Klaus scoffed a breathy laugh. Even imaginary, she could make him smile.

"Nightly." he replied. His eyes danced over her and the smile slowly faded. "How I wish you were real…"

"We'll be together again, soon." she said sweetly. "And all will be as it should."

"No," Klaus shook his head. "If you were wise, you'd stay as far from me as possible."

"Why would you say that?"

"What they say of me is true." he told her as sternly. Klaus shook his head and looked to the ground. "I'm evil, darkness made flesh. Everything I touch, everyone I love… if they're lucky enough to survive, always grow to regret that choice."

"Look at me," she said sharply. Klaus met her stare. "I chose to spend the rest of eternity with you, something creatures like us don't take lightly. I love you, Nik, and so do your siblings." He scoffed and looked away again. "Hey!" she snapped. His wide eyes shot to her, surprised by her outburst and the anger in it. "Enough, Nik. They love you, more than you think they do, and now that they're awake-" his gaze sharpened. K eyed his skeptically. "You can feel it, can't you?" he didn't respond. "Oh come on," her tone softened, "If I know they're awake, so do you."

"They can't… they can't come here." he told her worriedly. "If Marcel catches them… he'll kill Elijah, Rebekah…" his brows came together tightly. "He'll kill you."

K smiled sweetly once again and while he wanted to be comforted by it, the fear that Marcel may kill the real Kali was a strong one.

"If I can survive your tantrums, I can survive him." she teased.

Klaus let out a gasp of a laugh. The hallucination was so much like the real K that he could almost fool himself into thinking it was her. Almost.

The realization that she wasn't in fact there only brought back the ache of possibly never seeing her again. The smile left his lips again and coldness took his chest.

"Leave me," he muttered.

"Why?"

"Please," Klaus brought his knees to his chest and buried his face within them. "Just leave me."

He felt the air shift and knew she was gone. Like before, he was utterly, and completely alone.

~!~

Elsewhere, K trembled and shook. A thin sheen of sweat had gathered on her skin, which was now ghastly pale. The bags that had formed beneath her eyes made her look almost like a corpse.

She looked like a human struggling to survive the flu.

"Nik," she breathed heavily.

K's behavior and obvious distress had been worrying the others since they made it to the New Orleans border. Finally, Hayley had enough.

"Okay," she said as she stood before the trembling vampire. "You're going home."

"What?" she snapped back.

"Home. Now."

"I'm not going anywhere." K pushed herself up and stood as strongly as she could, but the others were more than capable of seeing her waver. "Not when he's this close."

"Kali," Hayley said as kindly as she could. She closed the distance between them and simply waited for a moment. It didn't take long before K's knees again gave out and she was forced to lean against the car. "Exactly." Hayley knelt in front of her. "You're too weak right now. We have to be fast and we can't do that with…"

"With me." K finished tersely.

"Yeah," she said softly. "Look, go home. We can do this. Go be with Hope."

K shook her head.

"Hell no, not when I'm like this." she pulled the neck of her shirt down just enough to show the blood. "I'm not going anywhere near her like this."

"Fine, but you can't come with us."

K's brows began to tug together and sadness was clearly written across her face. Hayley felt bad for her, but that didn't mean she was wrong.

Hayley reached up and gently touched K's cheek.

"We'll bring him back, okay?"

The vampire slowly began to nod. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Hayley was right. K was useless at the moment, and she knew it.

"Okay." she mumbled. "There's a gas station a few miles back. I'll wait there."

"Good." Hayley stood and helped K do the same. "You should be safe there."

"Yeah." she said under her breath just before she vanished from sight.

K was furious she wouldn't be there, but again -Hayley was right. What the hell could she do if she went up against anyone? A newborn could kill her with as weak as she was.

Angry with herself, K sped along the country road and just hoped Klaus would be safe.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** Okay, I didn't feel like waiting until this weekend, but since I'm right with the show, I've decided I'll upload on Saturdays. And I'm trying something new. When you see one of those little page break symbol clusters I use that's underlined and bold, that means something sexy happens below. lol. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 10**

The instant she felt the pain vanish, K sent out a mass text to everyone.

" _Where are you?"_

The message flashed across everyone's screen, but only one wrote back. The others were still far too busy trying to get Klaus away from the manor before Marcel found them.

The message she received was from Rebekah. The blond didn't write a single word, but sent a screen shot of her GPS location. Sometimes, K loved technology.

Without hesitation, she raced into the distance towards the little blue dot on the screen.

~!~

She pressed herself as hard as she could, ran as fast as she could, just to hopefully have a glimpse of them before they could be taken from her again.

The wind whipped around her face, stung her eyes and her legs felt like jelly, but she didn't care.

As she ran down the center of the road, K saw a black SUV coming towards her. She could see the driver was Hayley and knew it was them. The distance between them closed quickly before K stopped right in the middle of the street. Hayley immediately slammed on the brakes. The massive black vehicle screamed its protest, but did as its driver commanded.

For a moment, no one moved. K stared expectantly into the SUV with her brows pulled together and worry written across her face. She could see not only the hybrid in the driver's seat, but the one sitting beside her in the passenger.

The second their gazes met, both seemed frozen. For a while, Klaus couldn't move, but eventually managed. He shuffled with his seatbelt and threw his door open. He slammed it closed behind him and simply stared at her. The instant she was certain he wasn't a figment of her imagination, K felt her breath flee her lungs.

She forced herself to move because her body didn't seem to know what to do. As she took gradual steps forward, Klaus did the same. Those still in the SUV watched curiously as their brother finally made it to the front of the vehicle.

Steps that started slowly began to gain speed. Soon, the pair was racing towards one another and just before they reached each other, K leapt into the air. She wrapped her arms around Klaus as she slammed into his body. He was still weak -as was she- but neither could relent. Neither could be timid.

Tears instantly fled her eyes as she hugged him tightly. She clutched at his shirt, gathered it within her clenched fists and held him securely. Klaus buried his face in the nape of her neck and gripped his own wrist behind her back to ensure she wouldn't leave. The scent of her shampoo and skin made his back tense.

K took in one shaky breath after another. She couldn't believe it. He was back.

"Say something," she muttered into his neck. His arms tensed around her. "Say something so I know this is real."

"It's real," he said with a sigh of relief. Klaus adjusted himself so he could rest his chin on her shoulder and laced the fingers of one hand through her hair. "It's real."

K held him tighter than before.

His words weren't only for her. In fact, Klaus said them more to himself than anyone else. He had to reassure himself that this K, this was real. She wasn't another in a long line of hallucinations. She was real. He was free.

Neither knew how long they remained locked within each other's' arms in the middle of the road. The world had disappeared to them until the loud, startling sound of a car horn brought them back. They parted just enough to look back at the SUV to see Hayley, Elijah and Rebekah smirking to themselves while Kol looked at the phone in his hands. He didn't care about what was happening a few yards ahead and instead was content to stare at pictures of Davina.

"Come on," Hayley said in her normal volume. There was no need to speak louder. "We need to get home."

The two seemed to only just realize they had somewhere they needed to be and parted. Klaus let K slide from his arms, but refused to let go of her completely. Instead, he threaded his fingers through hers and held her hand. He was glad to feel the bulk of the jewelry on her left ring-finger.

When they made it into the SUV, they still hadn't let go of one another's hand, nor did they the rest of the trip. For hours, they remained connected that way. They didn't even speak. In truth, they could do little more than stare at their hands. It seemed impossible to them that they were finally together, like it was somehow another lie, another dream. K had never felt so desperate before, so relieved and scared at the same time. Klaus felt the same.

At some point during the long drive, K let her head fall against Klaus' shoulder. He glanced down at her briefly before letting his head rest against hers.

~!~

The family slowly exited the SUV. Some made their way inside quickly while others lingered. Klaus was one of those who lingered and K alongside him.

As he leaned against the side of the car while still holding her hand, Rebekah reached his side.

"What is it?" Elijah asked as he stood beside his sister and Hayley.

"Five years," he muttered as he stared at the house, "Never seemed so long." he looked to the blond at his side. "Thank you for not abandoning me."

Rebekah smiled softly, "Well, we did consider it." she teased. "The vote was rather close."

Klaus grinned lightly at her obvious joke. Rebekah leaned forward, kissed her brother's cheek, squeezed his shoulder lovingly and walked off towards the house with Elijah at her side. Hayley took the blonde's place.

"Are you okay?" she asked him sincerely.

"You mean, despite the capture, torture and forced isolation?" he smirked. K tensed her fingers around his on instinct.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Hayley said. "I can't imagine what that was like for you."

His smile lost the mocking undertone and he nodded.

"I had moments of solace." he replied.

Nodding her understanding, Hayley stepped forward and up the few steps. K joined her, but Klaus still wouldn't release her hand. As a result, she hadn't quite made it to Hayley's side before she turned to see him staring at her almost fearfully. K smiled as reassuringly as she could.

"Are you ready to see your little girl?" Hayley asked.

Klaus felt his stomach drop at the thought and his apprehension must have touched his face because both young women only looked at him warmly.

"Come on," K said as she tugged gently on his hand.

After taking another deep breath to give him courage he was surprised he needed, Klaus fell to K's guidance and let her bring him into the large country home.

The two young women walked with Klaus through the foyer where Hayley hesitated. She looked to K who did little more than nod. With another gentle smile, Hayley broke away from the pair and headed into the parlor where the others stood.

"Come on," K said.

She brought Klaus upstairs and turned to the right. At the end of the hall was a closed door and as softly as she could, she opened it to reveal the beauty within. Klaus felt his breath catch in his throat at the sight of Hope sleeping only a few feet away. He wanted to laugh that she was at the foot of the bed, but in truth, he was in awe of her. She was so big, so beautiful and perfect in every way.

"Do you want me to wake her up for you?" K whispered.

Despite the soft volume of her voice, Klaus still flinched. He'd slipped into his own thoughts for those few seconds and forgot about the world around him.

"No," he shook his head, "Let her sleep."

K wanted to give him a moment to himself to watch Hope, to be alone with her even if the little girl didn't know he was there, but his hand continued to tense around hers making the task impossible. He clung to her like he was frightened, which she wasn't surprised by. Marcel still hung in the background of their minds and the damage he'd caused wouldn't be forgotten soon. As a result, it made the recently freed hybrid apprehensive and scared. Tomorrow, perhaps he'd feel better, but at the moment, he was more like a bunny than himself, frightened of the world.

"She's beautiful," he muttered quietly.

"Yeah, she is." K agreed.

The two remained in the doorway for a long while before Klaus had to tear himself away. He was content to stay within the threshold until the end of the world if it meant he could watch Hope sleep, but he was also aware that he shouldn't.

Stepping away from that door and closing it was one of the hardest things Klaus had ever done in his life. It was almost painful, but somehow he managed.

When the pair made their way to the parlor where the others were sitting, drinking and doing their best to relax, they were each offered a drink by Elijah. They thanked him and before either of them could say anything, Rebekah spoke.

"So," she chimed as she pushed herself up out of the high-backed chair she'd been sitting in. "What's this nonsense I hear about the two of you marrying while I was cursed?"

K's face was blank and her eyes wide while Klaus smirked into his drink. Instead of speaking, K gradually moved her left hand behind her back and his it, but it didn't matter. Since neither of them seemed willing to release the other, Klaus held his drink with his left hand and his ring was well on display as a result.

Rebekah noticed it and glowered at the pair.

"Unbelievable." she muttered in annoyance. "Well, that simply won't do. The pair of you are just going to have to do it again, with me. Properly this time."

"Prop… what's that mean?" K asked a bit apprehensively.

"We'll have flowers, and dresses, the boys'll wear suits of course. Hope will be the flower girl and there will be music, and most importantly, _I_ will be there."

K's brows slowly rose at the long list of demands Rebekah seemed to have for a wedding that wasn't her own, but the others smiled. While K expected the list like they did, she was surprised by it, too.

"But first," Rebekah sighed before finishing off the last of her drink and setting the glass down. "Sleep."

"Well," Hayley said, "We have two spare rooms downstairs, and another upstairs. Which do you want?"

"The closer, the better." she smiled.

Hayley nodded and motioned for Rebekah to follow.

"Goodnight all." the blond said as she did.

"Actually," Freya set her drink down as well and stood, "Sleep sounds wonderful. I suppose I'll take the second one downstairs."

Together, the two said goodnight to their brothers and followed after Hayley to their rooms.

"Where's the spare up there?" Kol asked K as he pointed towards the ceiling.

"Right at the top of the stairs." she replied.

"Retiring for the evening as well, brother?" Elijah asked.

Kol shook his head as he filled his glass once more.

"I have more drinking to do."

Those remaining mused lightly over his statement, but weren't surprised by it, either.

"Come on," K told the man at her side. "You should shower."

She pointed to the stain in the center of his shirt and where it was torn. Klaus felt himself nod. A shower sounded incredible.

Together, they said their goodnights as well and went upstairs.

K directed Klaus to the other end of the hall from Hope's room. He felt himself looking to it one last time before being ushered into another room.

K's bedroom wasn't dissimilar to the room she had back at Mikaelson Manor, though a bit smaller. She still had a large four-poster bed, pale blue linens and old, dark wood furniture. It suited her and he liked it.

"Through there is the bathroom," she pointed towards a door off to the side. "Towels beneath the vanity."

On autopilot, he felt himself nod and escape to the bathroom to bathe. It had been five years since his last shower, after all.

 **~!~**

Klaus stood beneath the showerhead for an incalculable amount of time. The warmth of the water took with it so much. It wrapped around him, comforted him and helped him forget the past few years. It was a welcomed relief.

When the water grew tepid, Klaus decided that perhaps it was time for him to exit. He turned off the water, stepped out of the stall and wrapped a towel around himself when he noticed a pair of cotton pajama pants folded neatly, resting on the vanity beside his clothes. He smiled to himself.

A few minutes later, Klaus exited the bathroom to find K standing near the foot of her bed wearing her own night clothes, staring in his direction and seemingly waiting for him. She was leaning against the bedpost until she saw him. Pushing herself away, K took apprehensive steps forward.

The excitement of the day had dwindled to the point it was nearly gone and exhaustion was taking hold. Klaus felt it pull at his shoulders, but he didn't care. He only wanted to look at her.

She could say the same.

K missed him, from his ivory skin, to the bird and feather tattoo on his shoulder. She missed every beauty mark and freckle that stretched across his body, every hair on his head, and the way he made her feel at nothing more than his proximity.

A lump and tickle began to form in her throat. K felt her eyes burn and her vision turned blurry. Now that the world had settled, now that it was quiet in the dead of night, she was allowed to truly see him, to be glad he was there.

Klaus watched as her face twisted with sadness. Her delicate brows came together and her eyes became glassy. He knew she was near tears and even heard her breath hitch when her lips parted. He clenched his jaw to keep from doing the same.

As he stared at her in the growing silence, she looked so much the same, and different.

"Your hair's longer." he said in a halfhearted attempt to break the growing tension in the air.

A weak, breathy laugh left her lips. He wasn't wrong. K hadn't cut her hair since they broke up during the 'Aurora' incident. In five years, it had grown to her waist where it usually rested in a long braid. She would have cut it a thousand times, but Hope liked to play with it.

"Five years," K gasped.

The words caught in her throat and cracked as a result. The intense emotion that surrounded the pair finally seemed too much and when she blinked, the tears escaped. When they had, Klaus noticed her beginning to tremble. He immediately stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her again. K's eyes drifted shut as she let herself sink into the warmth of his skin against hers, but the shaking hadn't subsided. If anything, it became more pronounced.

"Five years," she mumbled into his skin, "Five years and I couldn't see you." he slammed his eyes shut and held her tighter, "I couldn't touch you." her fingernails bit into his back, but he didn't notice. Instead, Klaus pulled back far enough to press his forehead to hers and cradle her face. K struggled to control herself, but it was difficult. The best she could do was take in shaking, gasping breaths while her tears continued to fall. "I can't do that again, Nik," she choked, "not again."

He shook his head repeatedly.

"Never," he said softly.

"You can't leave me again."

"No," he whispered.

K felt his breath glide along her lips a moment before he pressed his to them. Her body suddenly tensed.

Five years should have meant nothing. Five years should have been a blink, it should have passed without notice like decades and centuries had prior, but it didn't. Klaus was gone for five years to the day, and she noticed. That was sixty months, or one thousand, eight-hundred and twenty-six days. That was over forty-eight thousand hours. Over two-and-a-half million minutes, and she felt all of it.

Klaus was tentative at first and kissed her softly as a result, but the sentiment lasted only moments. At the feeling of her lips against his, Klaus grew braver. He deepened the kiss and K happily obliged. She cooed softly at the feeling and Klaus felt he'd go through his skin.

Without warning, he lifted her. K immediately wrapped her legs around his waist as he stepped towards the bed. Everything happened so quickly after that. She didn't know how they got to the center of the bed or when, but she didn't care, either.

They were frantic and erratic, more like animals during a feeding frenzy than intelligent creatures.

Klaus didn't bother breaking their kiss as he took hold of her shirt and ripped it away. In fact, she helped him. So desperate to feel his skin against hers, K didn't care that yet another outfit would be a casualty.

The fabric gave way easily under their combined strength, and her shirt wasn't the only thing to suffer. When it was barely hanging from her shoulders, Klaus gripped the elastic waist of her shorts and did the same.

Without warning, K suddenly cried out when she felt Klaus shove into her. Her fingernails pierced into his back as she clung to him in a feeble attempt to steady herself. Klaus growled deeply in his throat and buried his face in the nape of her neck.

The world around them had gone still within an instant. Each breathed heavily to try and steady themselves and each smelled the copper in the air. Klaus felt the soft trickle of blood running down his sides from the wounds K's fingernails were creating because he was overly sensitive, but he didn't care. Instead, he did his best to focus on the pain she caused, if only to save himself for the moment.

Eventually, K relaxed her fingers and removed them from within Klaus' back. His skin immediately healed and now that she no longer held him in a death-grip, he could look down at her. K pried open her eyes to see his face. 'Missing' him didn't seem right. The word seemed inadequate and she didn't like using it.

Staring into his brilliant blue eyes, K brought her hand forward and tenderly cradled his stubble-ridden cheek. She gently ran her thumb along his bottom lip, transferring some of the blood from his back to them in the process. She watched as the crimson spread along his skin.

Klaus soon dipped forward and kissed her again. K happily returned the affection, and he began to move again. Her breath was stolen from her again and she was forced to break their kiss when she whimpered for air. Klaus put only enough distance between them to watch her react to him.

K's body was on fire, but still trembling. She couldn't stop shaking because he was home, he was with her.

Gradually, he gained confidence and speed. Soon, it was as though no time had passed since they were last together.

Even though her eyes were closed, her other senses ran wild. K could hear his shallow breaths and the groans and grunts of pleasure mixed within. She knew he could hear the same from her.

K clung to him, running her fingernails through his hair and along the back of his head. Klaus shuddered at the sensation gliding across his scalp. Reaching up, he took one of her hands, threaded his fingers through hers and planted it against the mattress by her head.

Klaus dipped forward and kissed her softly again while he continued to move. He felt himself nearing the end. It had been far too long since either of them had slept with another and he was 'suffering' for it now.

Klaus soon increased his speed and power and K responded. Her breathing became shallower and he knew it wouldn't be long. The pair were approaching the cliff and within seconds-

K cried out first and did her best to bite back the sound. Even on some level she knew they weren't alone in the house.

Euphoria washed through her. It saturated every vein, every molecule of her body and soon he felt the same. Klaus held her hand tighter than a human could ever withstand as he plummeted over the edge. His shoulders shook and after a few moments, he felt himself relax.

Klaus opened his eyes to see her staring up at him. K closed the distance and kissed him once again.

"I love you," she whispered when they parted.

"I love you," he replied in the same gratified, soft voice.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:** I think Saturday uploads may be best since I don't have backup chapters. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 11**

Hayley and K made their way up to Hope's room with the sounds of the Mikaelsons echoing in their ears. They both wanted to keep silent on their feelings towards the arguing, but it was growing more… prominent.

"Seriously?" Hayley snapped under her breath as she and K climbed upward. "They've been awake for a day."

"Long enough to argue amongst each other, isn't it?" K asked with a teasing smile.

Hayley sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. Hope was already awake and changing for the day, so the pair was only checking on her, but they were glad for the tense reprieve.

"Nothing's going to be like it was, is it?" Hayley asked as they pair stood outside their daughter's room.

K slowly turned to face the hybrid and noticed her apprehension and worry. K wanted to lie to her and say everything would be fine, but she didn't waste the breath. In her eyes, Hayley saw the truth and it scared her.

With them awake, now Hayley and K had to be on their guard. They had to be mobile and vicious. They had to be what they were the last time the Mikaelsons were around, before Hope was old enough to know what happened.

"Right," the hybrid sighed as she gave the door her attention. She knocked lightly and the pair was soon allowed to enter.

Outside, the siblings were already arguing. That was another thing that didn't take long. As the three from inside made their way out, they heard Klaus snap at the others. Both Hayley and K glanced to one another over Hope before appearing in the doorway. The Mikaelsons went motionless.

An awkward moment passed between everyone. K glanced up to Hayley.

"I've got this." She muttered softly to the other young woman holding the little girl's hand.

Hayley nodded and took a step back. Hope instinctually looked up to the vampire at her side.

"Let me introduce you to some friends of mine. This," she said with a kind smile before pointing to Elijah, "Is Cranky McNever-Smiles." Elijah's face dropped and he eyed her, but K only smiled and pointed to Freya. "That's Sabrina. She's a teenaged witch. Right there," she pointed to Rebekah, "Is Barbie's angry and violent little sister, Skipper." Rebekah glowered, "And that," K motioned towards Kol, "Is Zombie von Never-Stays-Dead."

Hope smiled at the introductions and the ridiculousness of them had the desired effect. They took away just a hint of the tensions that were brewing.

"No they're not." Hope smiled.

"Oh yeah?" K shot back with mock offense. "Then who are they, if you know so much?"

Her crystal blue eyes danced along the features of the people she knew without knowing. Eventually, they fell to the tall, dark-haired man with the strong jaw and kind eyes.

"He's Elijah, the Noble Brother." she said. "That's Freya, she's the oldest and a witch."

The siblings smiles returned and each of them had to admit how relieved and proud they were in that moment. K and Hayley slowly approached and each stood behind Hope, watching as sheer love came from the others.

"That's Rebekah," Hope pointed, "the Warrior. And he's Kol, the Trickster."

Hope looked over her shoulder at K, still bearing a wide smile as she waited for an approving nod.

Klaus, who'd remained uncharacteristically silent, waited for himself to be noticed. After K smiled to Hope, her eyes drifted to the man closest to her. Klaus felt his breath stolen from him the moment their gazes connected. She was even more beautiful awake.

"And he's Klaus," she said. He felt his heart sink, sure the next words out of her mouth would be disparaging. "The Wolf King, and my dad."

Klaus let out an audible sigh of relief at his description. He wanted to move forward and hug her. He wanted to speak to her, touch her, anything, but he was immobile, and Hope sensed it. She felt the family's apprehension towards her and it made the discomfort return.

"Can I go play in the garden?" she asked both young woman behind her.

Each of them nodded, and with a final glance to the people on the porch, Hope walked away.

~!~

Klaus and Hayley stood outside on the wrap-around porch watching the little girl in the distance. Hope went about her painting while Klaus continued to tremble with growing anger. It was his default, after all.

"What have you told her about me?" he asked with an edge to his words.

"She knows you're a hybrid, like me. She knows you're very old, but she's seven. I think we can wait to share the gory details."

"Well someone must have said something." He snapped. "Perhaps that crone, Mary."

"Stop." Hayley reprimanded. "The only stories she's ever heard about you are the ones Kali tells her every night."

His face dropped as he looked to the hybrid.

"What?" his anger seemed to have vanished that moment.

"Yeah," she said with a hint of sarcasm. "Every night since she was two, Kali tells her a story about you guys, about all of this. They're fantasy, sure, but…" Hayley's eyes drifted to the little girl in the distance, "They're about all of us, the things we've done, what happened with Marcel." Hayley took a deep breath and sighed softly before meeting Klaus's stare again. "Kali made sure she knew you guys. So, unless you think she'd tell Hope something awful, calm down."

Klaus clenched his jaw and shifted his weight a few times. Hayley had been around him long enough to know that was what he did when he was uncomfortable. She knew in that moment the conversation about someone slandering him was done.

Inside, K was busying herself without true purpose and it was driving her insane. She wasn't sure what to do with herself now, and it came out in nervous energy. She wanted to hover around Klaus and Hope, watch them like a hawk, but she knew better. It wasn't that K didn't trust Klaus around his own daughter, more that… well, she was protective and a bit jealous, honestly. Now that her real family was back, K felt that ridiculous and useless fear that she may become obsolete, like she had with so many Bennetts before.

Roughly an hour of cleaning already clean things, the pair made their way inside once again. Hope held Klaus' hand as she dragged him through the foyer and upstairs. He caught sight of K and smiled as he was guided. It made her do the same.

"Hope," she called before the little one could disappear. Hope paused on the steps and waited for what would be said. "Lunch in twenty minutes, okay?"

She smiled and nodded before tugging Klaus after her. The two elders caught each other's eye again and laughed lightly before he disappeared upstairs.

Shaking her head and still smiling, K made her way to the kitchen where she saw the blond waitress in a crumpled heap on the floor. Her smile immediately vanished and anger took hold. Filled with growing agitation, she knelt down, felt for the pulse and growled to herself. The woman was alive, but fainted from being drained too much too fast. After healing the young woman's wounds, K lifted her and set her down on one of the chairs just outside the kitchen door on the porch.

"Damn vampires," she hissed to herself as she went about cleaning the blood that had touched the floor.

One day awake and already the others were leaving their food lying around without a thought as to what seeing a possibly-dead body on the floor might do to the little girl.

~!~

Upstairs, Hope pulled out a vast number of her sketches, paintings and everything else she could think of to show Klaus. He simply stood near the door with a smile on his lips as she did.

"So," he said as Hope continued to add to the collection. "You're mother tells me Kali tells you stories about us."

Hope paused and looked at him curiously for a moment, which he thought a bit strange. It took her a moment to understand what he meant, but when she did, she smiled and nodded. Hope wasn't used to hearing K's name and it caused her to pause.

"Yeah," she said as she gathered her things, "Mama tells me stories all the time about you guys."

His brows came together.

"Mama?" he asked curiously.

Hope nodded again. It was clear to the hybrid that something was being lost in translation, but he wasn't entirely certain what.

"Yeah," she nodded again. "Mama's always told me stories, ever since I was really little. Mom says she did it so I would know who you were before you woke up."

Klaus felt himself smiling softly. He felt he was beginning to understand, but wanted to be certain.

"And did they tell you what all of us are?"

Hope nodded again.

"You're a hybrid, like mom." Hope explained. "Uncle Kol and Elijah, Aunt Rebekah and mama are vampires, and Aunt Freya is a witch."

Klaus' brows slowly rose as warmth filled his chest. In her small declaration, Hope told him a great deal of what happened the past five years, whether she meant to or not.

" _Lunch!"_ echoed from downstairs, shocking Klaus back into the moment.

"Come," he said as he helped the little girl gather everything. "Time for food."

Together, the pair made their way downstairs and to the dining room. Hope climbed into her seat, Klaus sat beside her and they spread out her artwork across the shining table. A moment later, K appeared from the kitchen with a plate of chicken fingers, baby carrots and a blob of ketchup in one hand, and a glass of apple juice in the other.

"I see granny Mary went shopping while we were gone." She said teasingly as she approached the table.

"I wanted apple juice." Hope said as innocently as she could.

"Uh-huh," K smirked. "You know the rules."

Without word, Hope pushed her artwork just out of reach and when the space was cleared, K set down her food.

"Thank you, mama." Hope said.

"You're welcome, baby." K kissed the top of her head. "I'll get you a napkin."

Hope nodded as she immediately went for the chicken tenders. As she walked by, K gave Klaus a soft smile, one he returned.

In the kitchen, K reached for the paper towels and tore one free. When she turned, she saw Klaus standing in the doorway. He stared at her strangely. She couldn't quite explain the emotion she saw. He looked proud, or at ease, maybe even happy, which was a strange combination for the generally anxious hybrid.

"What?" she asked curiously.

Klaus stepped forward. He reached up and tenderly held her cheek in his hand.

"Thank you," he said with such incalculable sincerity, it actually made K a little uncomfortable.

"For what?" she asked.

"For caring for her," he muttered softly, "for being a mother to _our_ daughter."

He couldn't express how glad he was to hear Hope call K anything similar to mother. It only gave further proof to how completely she cared for the little girl, how big a part of life she was, and how much she meant to Hope.

She smiled softly and before she could say anything, Klaus dipped forward and kissed her gently. It lasted only a moment, but that was plenty. He poured so much gratitude into the small action that K felt a bit lightheaded when they parted.

Without another word, the pair made their way into the dining room where Hope ate contently.

~!~

The day that followed was so absurdly normal, it was almost sickening, and they loved it. Elijah was free to be with Hayley, to be calm and content and court her as he always wanted. Klaus was free to be the father he didn't have, to spend time with his beautiful little girl and his wife, happy to literally do nothing if they chose.

The only ones who seemed on edge, were the other siblings, but Elijah, Hayley, K, Klaus and Hope were so busy with their lives in the moment, they didn't bother taking notice.

Bedtime finally came. Hope nestled herself deeply in the blankets, received a kiss from Hayley, another from Klaus and then came K.

"Okay," K chimed as she moved onto the bed beside Hope, "What'll it be? A story, a song, a poem? What?"

Hope thought about what she wanted. It took her a moment to decide on something.

"The one about the five siblings and the foe."

K felt herself smile softly. She knew Hope was well aware that the subjects of the story were in the house, but it had grown to be one of her favorites in the past year or so, along with quite a few about the Wolf King.

"Okay," she smiled. "Comfy?"

Hope wrapped her arm around the worn and torn stuffed wolf K had given her for her third birthday and sank deeper into the bed before nodding. K laughed lightly and shook her head at the little girl before continuing with a story they all knew so well.

"Once upon a time," K began in a soft voice, "There were five siblings whose love of family was unrivaled. Many feared the family, and hated them because they were jealous. They were jealous of the family's devotion to one another and their willingness to sacrifice everything for each other."

Unbeknownst to K -though suspected- Klaus had remained in the doorway with every intention of hearing one of these _stories_ K had been telling their daughter through the years.

"One by one, their enemies came for them. They tried anything they could to break the family apart and drive them away, but all it did, was pull them closer together. For years, none could separate them because they were too strong together.

"Until _he_ came."

Hope inadvertently scowled lightly at the mention of Marcel, though K was always sure never to use the vampire's name. The world was unpredictable and an enemy now may once again become a friend, and if that was the case, she didn't want Hope's opinion of him tainted. K was a firm believer in one forming their own opinions, and Hope was more than capable.

"This foe was unlike any others. He was stronger and faster and crueler than any who came before him because he was special. Unlike the others, he had the help of an ancient line of dead witches who turned him into a fearsome beast. And unlike the family's other enemies, he once loved the siblings, too. He had thought himself their brother, but was unprepared for what they'd do to defend one another. In his pain, he was driven mad.

"Hoping to cure him, the oldest sister -a powerful witch in her own right- used her magic. But their foe sent a spy after her and with a dose of poison, the first sibling fell.

"Trying to defend their family, two of the brothers attacked their enemy, but with gnashing teeth, and a vicious roar, the foe took them, so the second and third siblings perished."

Klaus felt his gut turn and his face twist into a scowl. He didn't know if it was the memories of the event that caused it or that K was telling Hope the story. Either way, he remained to listen.

"At seeing what happened, the youngest sister intervened for she once loved their enemy more than the others, and hoped to save them all. But what they didn't know was the youngest sister was plagued with a horrible curse that clouded her mind. Soon, it took her and the fourth sibling fell.

"Left on his own, the last brother confronted his enemy, one he once called friend and son. They yelled at one another, spoke cruel and mean words about betrayal and their pain.

"Wanting to rid himself of the final brother, the foe struck him down with a cursed blade. Satisfied that the family was finally gone, he stole the third brother away and celebrated.

"But what he didn't know was that the brother wasn't alone. His siblings hadn't died as their foe hoped, and together, the five of them devised a plan.

"You see, the last brother knew what had to be done to save his siblings. He knew he had to sacrifice himself so they could live to fight another day.

"Using her magic, the eldest sister bound the siblings together. All at once, they fell into a deep sleep, and this is where the story is different."

Hope's smile slowly began to spread wide.

"For years they rested in their slumber, watched over by-"

"By the long lost Wolf Queen and the Impossible Girl." Hope happily interjected.

"That's right," K laughed. "For years the two sought the cure that would bring them back until one day, they did. And now, together once again, the fabled family seek only to live together again, to be happy and feel the peace that had eluded them for so long."

"The end?"

"For now." she smiled. "Okay sweetie," K dipped forward and kissed Hope's forehead. "Get some sleep."

"Love you."

"Love you."

With a gentle smile, she stood and headed for the door. When she found Klaus, K shooed him out and closed the door behind her.

"Those are the stories you tell her?" he asked as they stood in the hall.

"Some of them." She nodded. "We have a lot."

"The Long Lost Wolf Queen, and the Impossible Girl?"

K smiled sweetly.

"Hayley and me."

"I gathered." He said leadingly and with a smirk of his own. It was clear he wanted her to elaborate.

"I've told her everything." K admitted, "How Hayley saved the wolves by marrying Jackson, how you and I met, how you guys fought Mikael. She knows everything; I just dressed it up and excluded the ridiculous amount of violence and blood."

Another grateful smile touched his lips as he reached forward and took her hand. Together, they went downstairs.

~!~

Eventually, Klaus found himself sitting in the dining room looking over more of Hope's artwork when Rebekah came to speak with him. He was finally given a glimpse into the others' distress.

"Nik," she said softly as she fell into the seat beside him. "You do not need me anymore." She reached for his hands and held them tenderly while Klaus struggled to keep his composure. "I know I am your favorite sibling, and I adore you, but there's room in my heart for something more. I want love, a family of my own, and wouldn't it be nice if we could part on happy terms for once? No daggers, no exile, just _so long for now, I'll see you again soon._ "

Rebekah's voice began to tremble and her eyes glisten as she struggled to keep from crying. Klaus found himself doing the same and while he felt anger at her desire to leave, it wasn't accompanied by the same cold loneliness he usually felt, too.

Still holding her hands, the pair rose to their feet. He looked deeply into her eyes.

"You were the only one who never saw me as a misfit. For centuries, my only place was at your side… and now, my place is beside my daughter, and wife." The two shared a soft, nervous laugh at those particular words. It still seemed so strange to them both. "And I suppose you deserve to find your place in it as well."

A grateful, happy smile spread across Rebekah's lips.

"Thank you," she sighed as she reached forward and hugged him tightly.

When they eventually parted, Rebekah turned and spotted K standing in the distance. She'd clearly heard everything, but stood back to give the two some space. With a smile, Rebekah approached her.

"Take care of them, would you?" she asked softly.

K smiled sadly in response.

"Haven't I always?" she teased.

With a sad laugh, Rebekah hugged K tightly. The two clung to one another like old friends.

"I hope you find your happiness." K told her sincerely.

"Thank you," Rebekah muttered before they parted. A moment later, the blond was gone.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:** Average length, but now I have some leeway. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 12**

Season 4, Ep. 4  


Keepers of the House

Rebekah and Kol were gone.

Hayley and Elijah were… preoccupied.

K was in the other room and Klaus was sitting by the fire. He was flipping through yet another booklet of Hope's artwork and a smile touched his lips as a result. The thought that the drawings were created by his daughter seemed unfathomable. It was a difficult emotion to convey to someone. Yes, they were done by a little girl. Yes, said little girl was his daughter. But making that connection was nearly impossible. It was simply incredible to him that he had a child, a child who'd grown up happily, a child who drew as he did or a child at all.

Words couldn't describe how wonderfully disorienting the whole thing was.

As he sat in the high-back chair flipping through the sketchbook, Klaus began to notice something strange. A symbol was being repeated, over and over again. It was a dragon, or snake, eating its tail. He recognized it as an old symbol, as something older than even himself. It was an Ouroboros and while the meanings behind the symbol may differ depending on the region, one thing remained the same. It had to deal with death, or one's soul.

Klaus felt a chill run down the length of his spine the longer he was forced to see the image.

"Dad," a meek voice chimed from behind. He spun to see Hope the cause. She stood near the couch and he rose to meet her. There was something wrong, something plaguing the recesses of his mind that kept him from being happy she called his dad.

"I think… something's wrong." She muttered softly. He stepped forward and knelt before her. "I had a dream… about a bad man. He was hurting these kids."

Klaus' face twisted with worry and fear. He wanted to be able to tell her it was nothing more than that, a dream, but something held his tongue.

K reemerged from the other room with a drink for her and Klaus. He glanced to her only briefly before his attention shifted once more to Hope. L immediately sensed something was off and her pace slowed to a near stop as she listened.

"And… I think he hurt me, too."

The two listening felt an immediate stab at their hearts.

"I feel dizzy, and… my head hurts."

Hope continued to speak softly and the longer she did, the more afraid Klaus and K became. It was when she mentioned that her head hurt that the two realized just how bad the situation was. A small trickle of blood began to drip from Hope's nose.

Klaus' breath was stolen from him as ice shot through his body. He'd never felt so helpless before at nothing more than a nosebleed.

"Oh," K breathed. She dropped the glasses and immediately raced to Hope's side. The glass clanking against the rug meant nothing to either adult.

Klaus shifted out of the way while K knelt before Hope. She tenderly took the girl's chin into her hand to better see. K's brows came together tightly and she lifted Hope into her arms. The little girl wrapped herself around her mother.

"Hayley," K said in her average volume, "Get out here, now."

"I'm cold," Hope whimpered.

The sound of her frightened, little voice made both K and Klaus cringe in pain.

"It's okay, baby." K whispered in return.

Only a moment later, Hayley emerged from her bedroom wearing one of Elijah's shirts. Later K would tease her for it, but not now.

"What's wrong?" Hayley asked as she came to K's side and reached for Hope. She tenderly touched her daughter, examined her as best she could, but was lost with how to help.

"I don't know." K muttered. "We need Freya."

Hayley nodded and didn't hesitate to find the witch in one of the other downstairs bedrooms.

Klaus stood in the background watching the scene unfold, how easily Hayley and K seemed to work together while tending to Hope and felt the uselessness return. He wanted to do something, but had no idea how. Unlike either of them, he didn't know how to help an ailing child.

"Look at me," K said softly as she pulled back from Hope. The little one did as she asked. Almost immediately K began to wipe away the blood. "It's okay, okay?" Hope nodded softly. "Good," K cooed and hugged her close again.

She closed her eyes and fought the urge to show how frightened she truly was. Hope had never been sick, never complained that something was wrong. She'd never had anything remotely bad ever affect her which made the nosebleed even worse. And the fact that it happened within twenty-four hours of her family's resurrection wasn't lost on K, either.

"Here," Klaus' voice brought K out of her thoughts. He'd gathered a throw blanket and stepped forward to gently wrap it around the pair. K offered a soft smile of thanks, which he returned. "You should sit."

She nodded and still holding Hope, K took a seat on the couch. She adjusted the little girl in her lap until Hope lay with her back to K's chest, and secured the blanket around her again.

"Better?" K asked.

Hope nodded, "Yeah…"

Not long after they took their seat on the couch, Hayley returned with Freya, and Elijah emerged from the bedroom clothed. K and Klaus assumed the only reason he had before was because he was naked. Given what Hayley appeared in, it was a reasonable assumption. Again, later they would tease.

Freya went about searching for the cause of Hope's mystery illness and quickly determined it was magically based. The declaration shocked no one. What was surprising, however, was the note that magically appeared in Hayley's pocket. At the mention of Vincent saying they had to return to New Orleans so he could heal Hope, the Mikaelsons were immediately struck with doubt and paranoia.

As Hayley read the short note and relayed the information, K's gaze instinctively drifted to Klaus. She saw his eyes darken, his jaw tense, and emotions she'd seen a thousand times before emerge. She knew he was minutes from spouting his refusal to do anything that brought them closer to Marcel, and knew she had to say something before he did. She didn't want him yelling in front of Hope, or having him reveal just how quickly his temper could be unleashed.

In an ancient language, K said, " _We can hear him out, at least."_

The strange shift caught everyone's attention. They all looked to K, but she stared back at only one. At realizing what she meant and that her words were only for him, Klaus' demeanor darkened, yet again.

" _You really expect this to be an olive branch as he claims?"_ Klaus asked sternly.

" _No,"_ K answered honestly, " _I expect it to be nothing more than it is, an offer of help from someone who seems to know more about this than we do."_

Klaus scoffed and rolled his eyes.

" _Do you think we can honestly trust Vincent?"_ Freya asked in her native language. " _He's always worked against this family in the past."_

" _He's only ever worked for the betterment of New Orleans."_ Elijah said. _"I think Kali's right. Perhaps we should simply listen to what he has to say."_

"You can't be serious." Klaus snapped. "This is simply just-"

" _Stop,"_ K interjected quickly, " _If you're going to talk about this in front of Hope, no English. Besides, he obviously knows something. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known to send Hayley the note."_

" _Perhaps he's the one who worked the bloody spell?"_ Klaus countered.

K's glower deepened to the point Klaus thought he could actually feel it. It was a little disturbing, to say the least.

Hayley watched the exchange and the sudden end to it with as much understanding as Hope, and she assumed that was the point. She didn't think the others were trying to leave her out of anything, but something told her they were discussing what to do about Hope and wanted the child ignorant to it. She was grateful, but still didn't like that she had no idea what was happening.

It was eventually agreed that they had no choice but to visit New Orleans again. No one wanted to return, but Hope's illness was… they didn't know. They had no idea what was happening with her and it was terrifying.

~!~

The sight of their dilapidated and rundown New Orleans manor registered with no one as they jogged through the doorway. They didn't care about what had befallen it, nor did they plan to linger long enough to try.

Hayley rushed Hope to the nearest couch and laid her down while Vincent made sure the others knew he wanted them gone as quickly as possible. Klaus of course snapped at the witch, but considering the things he usually said, it was fairly timid.

Vincent chanted over Hope, wove his spell and cleared away whatever surrounded her. The magic took only a moment, and everyone was grateful for it. When she was healed, Hope stood and hugged Hayley.

"Thank you," K said to the man at her side.

Vincent offered a nod and was sure to tell them he wanted the entire Mikaelson clan out of the city.

As Hope headed for Klaus and K on the other side of the courtyard, they were horrified by what happened. One, two, three –a dozen- crows began to fall from the sky, dead.

K raced forward and wrapped her arms around Hope, lifting her into the air as though it would help save her from whatever caused the mass deaths. Terrified, she held Hope high while dozens of crows fell to the ground in a wide, massive circle around her.

"What is this?" Klaus demanded shakily.

"I don't know." Vincent answered honestly.

Hayley soon joined K and Hope inside the circle. She hugged her daughter as best she could while also wrapping her arms around K in the process.

"Do… do you guys hear that?" Hope asked softly. Attention sharpened on the little girl. "It's… it's whispering, and they're saying a name… over, and over. Cray nuh huh…"

Hayley's brows came together tightly.

"Vincent, what is that?"

"A nearly forgotten dialect." He replied with a pit growing in his gut. "Creole… it means the hollow." His face twisted into pure fear. "It means the Hollow is coming."

The air itself darkened, something no one thought possible, but it did. A heavy veil of something wicked and foreboding descended on them the moment Vincent uttered the name of the creature.

"We can't leave," K muttered. She met Hayley's eye first before turning her frightened stare to Vincent in the distance. "I'm sorry, but we can't leave until we know what's happening."

He clenched his jaw repeatedly as he struggled to come up with something that would usher the Mikaelsons from the city, but he couldn't. With Hope ill and something much worse affecting her than he assumed, he knew they had no choice but to stay close. Somehow, he knew the cure was in New Orleans.

"I need to go." He said. "Just… just stay here."

And with that, Vincent left the grounds.

Those who remained weren't certain what to do. It was late in the night, so much so that morning would soon come, but they were at a loss.

"Come on," K whispered softly to the little girl in her arms. "Let's see if we can't find somewhere for you to lay down."

"I'll clean up this mess." Klaus offered.

Hayley and K gave him a soft nod before heading upstairs to –hopefully- find a room that hadn't been destroyed during the riot that overtook the manor.

~!~

Hope lay in Klaus' bed wrapped tightly in blankets to try and keep her warm. To someone on the outside, it looked like she was suffering from the flu, nothing more. She was warm to the touch, but internally felt like she was freezing. She was weak, and tired, and couldn't do much on her own. A flu met that criteria, but no one was stupid enough to think it was something so easy. They knew better.

When the pair eventually made their way to the main floor of the manor, Klaus was already seething, which surprised no one.

"Well, make an excuse." He replied. "I'd rather my daughter not know that I went to slaughter witches."

"No," K said sternly, "You'll go up there and comfort your daughter because you don't know whose responsible and I'll be damned if you're going to go around killing random people."

"They are declaring war on this family." He snapped.

"No they're not!" she shot back just as sharply. "Something is using them, something old and something dark. They are pawns, Klaus."

He took a step closer and loomed over her.

"All the more reason." He growled. "One cannot play chess when the pawns have been wiped from the board."

Without warning, K's hand shot out and landed sharply against his cheek. Hayley's eyes went wide and her brows climbed high in shock, Elijah took a preemptive step back, and the courtyard had gone deathly silent.

"Listen to me," she hissed through her teeth. Klaus gradually –stiffly- turned to face her and his rage was undeniable, but she was unfazed. "You will _not_ start another war. You will _not_ go around aimlessly killing people, and you will _not_ add to your bloody name, you hear me? What you will do is go upstairs and be at her side because she wants you there, because despite you're being gone for the majority of her life, she wants her father." Klaus' jaw tensed and he shifted his weight on his feet. K could tell he still wanted to be angry, but she had taken the chance from him. In a much kinder voice, she said, "go."

Reluctantly, and avoiding the eyes of the other two in the courtyard, Klaus stepped passed her and towards the stairs. He disappeared shortly after.

When he was gone, K took a deep breath, planted her hand to her forehead and sighed. She knew a fight would come as a result.

"Well," Elijah muttered, "you seem to have become a bit more hard-handed through the years."

It was meant as a teasing comment, and K took it as such. She laughed lightly and shook her head.

Without Klaus, the three of them made plans for what they needed to do that day. K asked Elijah to be diplomatic in his venture. She knew he was the most out of his siblings, but he was also very strong-willed and blunt. She just didn't want the added aggravation and was honest about it. He said he'd do his best, and she believed him.

With that, she made her way upstairs while Hayley and Elijah left the grounds.

~!~

Hours seemed to pass and little had changed. Klaus called Freya and asked –begged without begging, actually- that she come to tend to Hope. She was the only one that he knew who could calm the illness running through her.

As he sat at her bedside, K joined them with a glass of water. Hope weakly rolled her head to the side and smiled at her mother, while Klaus bit back a growl. He instead looked away, like a hurt child who was scolded for sneaking sweets before dinner.

"Here," K said softly, "I brought you some water."

Hope struggled to sit up, so K helped her. She held the water to the girl's lips and let her drink a bit before she lay back down. K set the water aside and climbed into bed with Hope, much to Klaus's surprise. Still, he almost expected it, too.

K leaned against the headboard and sat up while Hope curled to her mother's side as she had many times before when struggling to fall asleep. One was never too old to be cradled by someone, so Hope gladly did.

As she laid on K's stomach with her arm across her bother, Hope slipped once again into a shallow sleep. Klaus' hand remained on Hope's leg near her knee as he watched K gently run her fingers through the little girl's hair.

The three remained silent for some time until K finally looked up at Klaus. He tentatively met her gaze and she could tell he was still angry.

" _I'm sorry, for hitting you."_ She told him in Finnish.

Klaus took a breath and sighed heavily.

" _You weren't wrong."_ He admitted reluctantly. _"Though, perhaps the slap was a bit much."_

He glanced to her through his lashes and let a smirk touch his lips. Relieved, she smiled, too.

"Mama," Hope's voice was still soft. Evidently, despite keeping the volume down, the pair still woke her.

"What?" she asked quietly.

"What's wrong with me?"

Klaus and K both felt a stab in their chests, but kept the emotion primarily from their features.

"I don't know, sweetie."

Hope pulled back just enough to look into K's eyes.

"Promise?"

"Of course." K replied. "I told you I'd never lie to you, remember?" Hope nodded. "So I won't."

"Mom said that guy Vincent is a witch." She continued. "She said he was here to help me," she laid back down in K's lap and her gaze shifted to Klaus. "But I feel worse."

"I know," he muttered softly, "I know, but as we speak, your mother and Uncle Elijah are working with Vincent to make this all go away."

"Do you know what it is, the Hollow?" she asked them both.

"No," K answered.

"No, sweetheart, we don't." he told her sadly.

"It wants those kids, and I think it wants me, too." Hope said. "But why? Why would it want those kids?"

"Because of what they are." K said. Klaus shot her a warning glare, but she didn't bother heeding it.

Hope shifted again so she could look at K.

"Is that why it wants me, too, because I'm a witch?"

"Yes, sweetie," K said tenderly as she gently touched Hope's cheek, "but you're different from them, too."

"Why?"

K's brows came together as she held Hope's cheeks in her hands and cradled her lovingly.

"Because you are so special." She said. "You are so much more than a witch. You come from one of the oldest lines of witches in the world, from a family that has been through and survived a thousand dangers and only become stronger as a result. You are powerful and unique, and it wants you because of that."

" _Kali,_ " Klaus hissed when he heard what she said. She glanced to him only briefly before looking once again to Hope.

"But you know what else you are?" she asked with a soft smile.

Hope returned the action as best she could, but she was still weak.

"A Mikaelson." She smiled.

"That's right." K nodded. "And what does that mean?"

Klaus couldn't fight the mild surprise that touched his features as he looked from K to Hope and back again repeatedly.

"That nothing can ever hurt us."

"That's right." She smiled again. K reached forward and wrapped her arms around Hope, pulling the child back to her chest once more. "Just ask your dad."

Hope's eyes drifted to Klaus and it was then he seemed to find his voice.

"She's right," he told his daughter. "Mikaelsons look out for one another, protect each other. Always-"

Before he could finish, Hope spoke, "and forever."

It warmed his heart more than he thought possible and a genuinely proud smile touched his lips as a result.

"That's right." He nodded.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN:** Loooooong, but enjoy!

 **Chapter 13**

Season 4, Episode 4

 _Keepers of the House_

Klaus received a call from Elijah not long after Freya had arrived at the manor. The eldest brother asked that Klaus join him in the bayou, and the hybrid was only too glad to. K left as well, much to Klaus' annoyance. He wanted her far from whatever was coming their way and by their daughter's side, but K trusted Freya, and not Klaus. She didn't trust something not to happen to him again.

They raced to the bayou alongside one another and without word. Following Elijah's voice and the scent of witch was easy enough, so within a few short minutes they found the pair.

"Where's Hope?" Elijah asked the moment he saw the two advance.

"With Freya," Klaus replied tightly. "She's fighting it, whatever _it_ is."

"The kids are attached to that spell," Vincent said, "So if we save the kids, we save your little girl."

"And," Marcel suddenly chimed from behind, "The sooner all of you can be on your way."

Hayley sighed as she and the newly crowned Prince of NOLA approached from the tree line.

"Clearly," she muttered sarcastically, "We're skipping all of the hugs and hellos. Vincent,"

"The trail leads this way," he motioned down the wide path, "So, I guess we follow the breadcrumbs."

Plans were soon made to split up and Marcel was the one to quickly make it seem like it was his own, despite everyone knowing the words would have left Klaus' lips first, had the monster not interrupted him. His parting, _I don't give a damn_ , made K roll her eyes so hard, it almost hurt. Did he honestly think he was being regal, or intimidating? Marcel looked and sounded like nothing more than an angry child trying to get the last word.

"Be careful," K said softly to Klaus.

He forced a brief smile that left his lips almost immediately. She had every intention of leaving with the pair, but Klaus shook his head and for some reason, she let the subject lie. Perhaps she knew the pair had things to discuss without a spectator.

With a kiss to the cheek, Klaus followed Marcel into the distance while K, Elijah, Hayley, and Vincent took another direction.

~!~

By nightfall, the hideout had been found. Even if the others weren't certain where to look, the fire led their way.

The witches in the center of the macabre scene stood before an incredible and haunting altar made of bones and sticks. It was made all the more terrifying by the four small bodies wrapped in cloth at the base of it.

When one of the witches was suddenly skewered by a stick –that K somehow knew was Klaus- they all sprang into action. K helped Vincent get the children away from the altar while the others easily slaughtered the witches before they knew what was happening. When she killed her target, Hayley joined them and quickly, the children were whisked away into the darkness.

Who'd have thought that vampires and hybrids were the safer option that night?

It took seconds to kill the witches and Will, but that didn't matter. No sooner than K turned to see if the others were clear or if she were needed, did a spell take effect. If she hadn't seen so many in her long life, she might have been fooled, but she wasn't. A cold pit grew in her stomach when she saw Elijah lunge for his brother only to hit an invisible barrier.

Fear surged through her body to an unimaginable degree.

The words, "Not again," slowly trickled from her lips. "Not again, not again."

K immediately ran for the fiery circle encompassing Klaus and Marcel. She dipped her shoulder as she did and slammed into the invisible barrier like a football player tackling the quarterback. A deep, resounding boom echoed through the air, the ground trembled and everyone felt the reverberations of the impact, but the barrier held strong.

"Nik!" K screamed as she beat against the spell.

Her fists slammed into something unyielding, unforgiving and unseen. She could see him in the center of the circle, on his knees with a blank expression and knew something was taking over. Again, K had seen far too much spell work throughout her life not to recognize it.

The fear tripled and for a brief moment K was afraid he'd be lost again. She was afraid she'd have to return to Hope, tell her once again that her father was gone and that she was at fault. K was afraid she'd have to see the sadness and disappointment in Hope's eyes at the realization that her mother was a failure.

As much as she loved Klaus, as much as she wanted him around for her own peace of mind and her own jealous, greedy reasons, it was for Hope that the fear became unmanageable.

With another angry cry, K began to claw at the wall. She attacked it like a rabid animal, something that terrified those beside her. Vincent, Hayley and even Elijah took slow, measured steps back from the young woman who seemed willing to tear the magic apart with her bare hands. And she was.

K called on everything she had. She dug deeply into herself, deeper than she ever had before. Driven by fear, she had no choice but to break through the spell. There was no other way and she would burn herself from the inside out if she had to just to get in.

K's hands were flat against the barrier as she pushed against it and that's when Hayley saw it. Hayley was the closest and noticed K's face twist. She watched as the veins emerged, how her teeth sharpened and her body began to tremble. K ground her teeth, flexed every muscle in her body and created divots in the soft earth where her feet dug into it. Hayley could see pain in the vampire's face and it scared her. Whatever K was doing was beginning to hurt her and the hybrid could tell she wasn't about to stop.

Hayley took a slow, tentative step forward.

"K," she said meekly. The vampire didn't seem to notice. Hayley took another step and spoke a bit louder, "Kali," again, she didn't seem to notice. Taking a deep breath, Hayley reached forward and tenderly touched K's arm. The vampire felt like she was on fire, but Hayley ignored it for the moment. "Kali, you have to stop." Silence. Hayley tensed her grip. "Stop!" she snapped. Again, silence. Hayley growled to herself and wrapped her fingers securely around K's arm with every intention of pulling her back. "You have to st-"

Without warning, K's head snapped towards her and Hayley felt her body seize.

"Leave me!" she roared in a voice twisted into something unnatural.

Hayley gasped and shot back. K returned to the barrier and her futile attempts to rip through it, but Hayley couldn't un-see what she'd just witnessed.

K's eyes were black and gold.

Unable to dwell on it, Hayley was called to Vincent and Elijah's sides. K didn't notice her departure or much of anything else.

The fire in her body began to burn like an inferno and she knew she'd be lost, but not before she broke through the spell. K growled and roared angrily as she clawed at the barrier, struggled to rip into it, to get her handle on anything. She dug her fingernails into the invisible wall with every intention of tearing it open like one would an orange peel. So intent on what she wanted, K never realized the claws that were slowly but surely forming.

Suddenly, K felt the barrier begin to weaken. She felt her fingers actually penetrating the barrier and it did nothing more than make her try harder. Her muscles ached, her body shook and just as inexplicably as the spell had begun, it suddenly ended.

K shot into the circle and immediately raced for Klaus, sliding on her knees as she collapsed in from of him.

Klaus slumped as the spell that held him dissipated. K took his jaw into her hands and guided his heavy head up.

"Nik," she muttered in a near panic of a voice, "Nik, look at me."

Slowly his eyes began to focus and when they had, she breathed a bit easier.

"Kali," he sighed. A light smile touched her lips when he was coherent enough to speak her name.

"Come on," she tenderly helped him to his feet. "Let's get out of here."

When he was to his feet, Klaus felt his bearings return faster than he assumed they would. Within a few short steps, he was able to stand on his own. At some point Marcel joined them, but neither cared, or truly noticed.

Everything began to calm shortly after and with the children, the group of miscellaneous species made their way back to the Quarter.

~!~

Hayley stood in the upper balcony of the church watching as the parents were finally reunited with their children. It was a heartwarming sight that she was glad could happen.

She spoke briefly with Marcel before leaving and was surprised at the level of civility he had. It wasn't that she thought he was beyond the ability, but she knew she reminded him of the Mikaelsons and his hatred of them ran deep.

"New Orleans is yours." She told him sincerely, "I hope it brings you peace."

Marcel was surprised by the emotion and as she walked by, he felt compelled to say something to her.

"Do one thing for me," he chimed before she had the chance to disappear. Hayley slowly turned to face him. "Tell Hope she doesn't have to fear me. She never did."

Hayley felt a smile touch her lips and scoffed a light laugh before she could hold it back.

"What?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"It's uh…" she mused lightly before meeting his questioning stare, "Kali tells Hope stories, to kind of tell her about this world, ya know?" the question was rhetorical, but he nodded regardless. "She told her about you, too, about what you did to her family." Marcel's jaw tightened. "But she never used your name." his brows tugged together. "I guess she knew, or hoped, that one day there would be some kind of truce, or that Hope would come home. I don't know," she shrugged lazily, "Maybe she just knows how fast everything changes in this world."

With a light wave, Hayley left the church and left Marcel wondering how he should proceed with the information he'd been given.

Back at home, K helped Hope ready for bed and along with Klaus tucked her in for the night. As they left the child's room, K could see how despondent he was, and it bothered her.

"Hey," she cooed softly. K grabbed his arm and forced him to turn. For a moment, Klaus refused to meet her stare, but K wouldn't be denied and garnered his attention quickly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he forced a weak smile that vanished as quickly as it appeared.

K cocked a single brow, "Am I meant to believe that?"

"No," he sighed softly. "But believe that I will tell you, when I fell up to the task."

K reluctantly nodded and when she had, Klaus reached forward, cradled the back of her head and kissed her forehead tenderly before walking away. She watched him leave with worry staining her features. Something was clearly wrong, and she didn't know how or if she could help.

~!~

Season 4, Episode 5

 _I Hear You Knocking_

Hope's things were brought together quickly when it came time for her to go to the bayou. With two supernatural mothers packing everything, how could it not?

Elijah was in the courtyard speaking with Klaus when K descended the stairs. Although, perhaps _speaking_ was the incorrect word. As it tended to go, the two were arguing with one another and K didn't like the direction the argument was going. The moment Klaus said he planned to handle everything on his own while the family all left, she knew she had to step in.

Before he could disappear to wherever he planned to go, K appeared within his path. His step hesitated and he let out an irritated sigh at the sight of her. Somehow he knew she'd heard everything.

"This is not up for discussion." He said before she had the chance to speak.

As he attempted to step around her, K once again appeared in his path with the same look of determination he usually enjoyed touching her features. At the moment, he found it annoying.

"I'm coming with you." She told him evenly.

"No, you're not." He said just as sternly. "You, Hope, Hayley and Elijah will all go to the bayou where you can keep our daughter safe. Leave Marcel to me and Freya."

Her brows began to twitch together and fear took her expression.

"You're not going anywhere without me, Nik." She said.

"This isn't your concern, Kali."

"Isn't my… are you kidding? You're my husband," she said as she closed the distance between them, "do you know what that means?" Klaus felt himself subconsciously twisting his ring with his thumb as he stared at her. "It means you don't have to do this alone. You don't have to do _anything_ alone anymore. You're mine, Nik, as much as I'm yours." His brows began to crease and whether he wanted it to or not, his exterior began to waver. "I'm coming with you, whether you want me to or not."

Despite himself, he gave her a short, brief nod and stepped around her. K glanced up and noticed Elijah still standing in the background, smiling to himself and musing over the pair's argument. K did the mature thing and stuck her tongue out at him before following after Klaus.

~!~

As she thought he might have, Klaus tried to lose K more than once as the day progressed, but couldn't manage for long. By the second time, K decided to remain in the background and watch. She let him think she was gone, that he'd won, and waited to see what may happen as a result.

While Klaus walked through the Quarter, K noticed him suddenly begin to act strangely. Her brows came together as she narrowed his eyes. As Klaus looked around –almost frantically- K saw him speak to himself. Pressing her hearing, she spied on the conversation while she remained tucked away near a Ghost Tour. The men in the black suits with top hats and large signs always had nearly a dozen tourists with them and that was plenty to hide her.

"I assume I have the fortune of speaking to the… what was it again? The Inept? The Vacant? The Hollow!" he chimed with a false smile.

K felt her insides lurch and focused even harder. When she peered around the corner of a building, K noticed him looking around worriedly again, as though he heard voices coming from a thousand different points and he couldn't find the right one.

"A depraved demon spouting psychoanalysis," Klaus finally sneered after a lengthy silence. "Perhaps you speak from personal experience? Do you come from a broken home?" he asked as he sauntered forward. "Daddy drank, mommy didn't love you."

K listened as Klaus continued to taunt the ancient evil, as he spoke of his feelings towards Marcel and that he now had a weapon to kill the Monster King. Her dread grew and after a moment, Klaus moved. K followed again.

Not long after Klaus stepped into an alley did the 'imaginary' fight between him and the Hollow grow out of control. K watched him speak freely and react as though he didn't realize there were people surrounding him. It made her realize that perhaps he didn't. She wanted to see what he did, wanted to know what was happening and if she wasn't so afraid of it, K would have realize she should have. Their connection should have shown her his visions, should have let her hear what the Hollow said, and yet she was as blind as the rest of the world.

Unwilling to let the internal assault on Klaus continue, and afraid he'd kill more civilians after throwing the one young man so far he died on impact, K raced for Klaus. She grabbed his face, called his name, but he seemed incapable of hearing her.

"Listen to me, Nik!" she yelled at him, even shaking him a bit, but it never broke through the cloud in his mind.

Before she could react, Klaus reached for her throat and ripped it out. He fractured everything he touched and as a result, inadvertently snapped her neck in the process. Gasping for air as her lungs were filled with blood, K collapsed. She only just saw the look of satisfaction touching his face before everything went black.

Klaus killed more versions of Mikael than he had in reality, which he found a bit amusing. Still, the variations he rather liked. He threw one through the air, snapped another's neck and ripped out the third's throat. What is it they say, variety is the spice of life?

Only a moment after the third body hit the floor, Klaus was given clear sight. He realized quickly that every one of the bodies he'd thought were Mikael were in fact real. He was surrounded by his three victims.

"Imagine what would happen if I made you kill someone you cared about." Mikael sneered as he came up behind the hybrid. "Perhaps, I already did."

When he turned to look over the victims again, Klaus suddenly realized that the third victim was K. His stomach sank as he raced for her side.

"No, no, no, no, no," he muttered in a panic. Klaus pulled K into his lap and noticed that her eyes stared blankly and without focus into the distance. "This isn't real…" he whispered. "This is another one of your tricks."

"Oh, I can't take credit for this." Mikael smiled. "That is most certainly your beloved wife."

Klaus felt tears beginning to form in his eyes. The scent of her blood touched his nose as he watched the wound in her neck slowly heal. Something told him that yes, this was K.

Mikael continued to taunt Klaus from behind, to tease him with his malicious plans to turn his focus on Hope once again. Klaus was shaking with fear and anger. He'd underestimated the Hollow and he knew it.

After Mikael told him that he had to kill Marcel, Klaus was finally given a reprieve. Before he could be seen, he lifted K into his arms and fled the alley.

~!~

K awoke with a start. She breathed heavily and coughed up a fair amount of blood when she had. It seemed to have settled in her lungs when she 'died'. The taste made her winced, which she thought a bit ironic.

Looking around as she gathered herself, K realized she was in Saint Ann's church. She was confused for obvious reasons and didn't hesitate to call Klaus. When he didn't answer, she called Elijah.

"Where are you?" she barked.

" _Freya called me to a house. Why?"_

"Text me the address. I'll meet you there."

Elijah wanted to ask, but knew from the urgency in her voice that perhaps it wasn't the time. Once the called ended, K waited impatiently for the address until it finally came. With her destination, she left.

She sped through the city easily and soon came to the dilapidated duplex where Freya and Elijah stood on the porch. Freya was chanting and harnessing Elijah to do so. Aware that meant she needed significant power; K didn't hesitate to make it to the elder brother's side and take his hand in hers. He gave her a grateful nod when she had.

Freya's spell –now powered by an Original and an Ancient- soon broke down the wall keeping them away from the fight. No sooner than it was gone did the door burst open. Elijah ran inside and threw Marcel from Klaus.

It took seconds for Marcel to fall at Klaus' hand and the black figure to emerge. Freya threw her bottle spell at it and the ephemeral monster screamed in pain before withering away into nothingness. The air –once saturated with electricity and rage- had gone eerily still.

Standing at the forefront, Klaus turned to his siblings, but his eyes soon fell to K standing at Freya's side. He saw her blood staining her throat, where it had trailed down and saturated her shirt. He could practically see where his fingers had dug into her flesh. An exasperated and sad sigh left his lips at the sight, but K said nothing. Instead, she stepped away and reached for Marcel. She threw the man over her shoulder and walked towards the front of the house where Freya soon joined her. Elijah wasn't far behind and eventually Klaus followed.

~!~

"A monopoly on power only makes you a target, sister." Klaus told her with an eerie smile. "Remember that."

Without a word, Freya snatched the blade away and left. When she was gone, Klaus turned a stern eye to his brother.

"You think I spared Marcel out of some foolish sentimentality. The Hollow wanted both of us dead." He said as he stared at en emotionless Elijah, "Killing him would have given it exactly what it wanted. Marcy was necessary, that's all."

Klaus fell easily into his seat. He propped his elbow on the arm of the chair, buried his lips in his fingertips and stared at Elijah through his lashes. He almost dared his brother to speak.

"There's more," Elijah finally said, "Isn't there?"

Klaus growled and looked away. In his familiar reaction, Elijah knew he was on the right track.

"What happened to Kali, Niklaus?"

When he asked, Klaus flinched and Elijah was certain he was right. For a moment, no one spoke, no one moved, until Klaus' guilt caused the words to come whether he wanted them to or not.

"It made me see things," he said into his fingers. "It made me see someone else. It wasn't until my eyes cleared that I realized what I'd done."

Elijah took in a deep breath and sighed softly. He knew the implications of what happened, the possible side-effects, but he also knew something else.

"She will forgive you for this." He said. Klaus barely met his brother's eye. "She is well aware of what happened."

Klaus chewed briefly on his thumb.

"I've never raised a hand to her." He said, "Not like that. Anything I've done before was done with purpose, without malice," he remembered when he had to fight her in front of Dahlia and how vicious he had to be, but as he said, that was with purpose. He only did things to her that would keep her out of the fight for a few minutes at a time, and she gave as good as she got. "But this…" his brows came together. "I enjoyed it."

Elijah flinched, but did his best to hide the emotion. Klaus couldn't lie. When he thought he was killing Mikael, he'd been practically giddy, but now faced with the truth, he felt unfathomable guilt for enjoying even a millisecond of what he'd done.

"How am I meant to face her again?"

"Perhaps you should start with simply speaking to her?" he offered calmly.

~!~

K stood on the nearly broken balcony staring down at the streets. It was the best maintained bit of the house, but the destruction was so thorough when Marcel and his lackeys made their way through, that the supports were a bit wobbly. She didn't care, or truly notice as she pressed the ringing phone to her ear.

" _Hey, Kali,"_ Hayley greeted with a sigh when she picked up.

"Hey," K replied. "She's asleep, isn't she?"

" _Yeah,"_ she said heavily. " _She fell asleep a few hours ago."_

K's head dipped and her shoulders slumped.

"Yeah," K muttered, "Uh, well," she cleared her throat, "I guess I'll talk to you later then, okay?"

" _Uh, K?"_ Hayley wanted to get K's attention before she hung up. " _I need to talk to you about something, give me a second."_

K waited. She heard Hayley walking around and noticed the sound of crunching brush under her feet. It made her curious as to why Hayley felt the need to walk away from the house to speak.

" _How are you feeling?"_ she finally asked when she was apparently clear of Mary.

"Fine," she shrugged to herself. "Why?"

There was a brief hesitation on the other end of the line and it caused K's back to tense.

" _I uh…"_ Hayley wasn't certain how to phrase what she was about to say and decided to blurt it out instead of dance around the subject. " _I saw something last night."_

"Okay…" she mumbled.

" _Your eyes… they turned black and yellow… like mine."_

K's brows came together and her brain began to race. There was no denying what Hayley said, but believing it was something else entirely.

"What?" she finally asked.

" _Your eyes turned black and yellow, like a hybrid's."_

Again K fell silent. She wanted to say something, to deny the fact, but how was she supposed to know what color her eyes were.

"Okay, well… I should go." She decided to say instead. "I'll talk to you later."

" _Yeah… okay. Bye."_

The pair soon ended the phone call. K slipped her phone into her back pocket and decided to simply ignore what Hayley told her in favor of anything else. She simply didn't want to deal with it at the moment and instead felt herself linger on the reason why she'd called. Hope was already asleep which meant there would be no story that night.

In all the years she'd told them to the child, K hadn't missed a night. Even when she was out on the road she'd offer something to Hope, usually something short though. It'd be a poem, or perhaps a short song, but she always talked to Hope before she went to sleep, until now.

"Was that Hayley?"

Klaus made her insides jump whether he meant to or not. He'd gone to speak with her and was drawn to the balcony when he heard her speaking to Hayley. The topic of conversation had forced him to remain behind, however.

"Yes," she nodded, but didn't bother turning. Klaus felt a stab in his gut as a result, but pressed through it. He approached her. "I assume you were listening to the conversation?"

"I was." He finally reached her side. "Show me your eyes, Kali."

She turned to face the man beside her and stared at him.

"Excuse me?"

"Show me your eyes." He repeated.

She didn't seem amused by his request, and despite her reluctance, she did as he asked. Klaus saw the veins take over, the bloodshot orbs and how the red saturated them completely. He narrowed his eyes as a result which bothered her a bit.

"They're normal, aren't they?" she asked with as little a tone as she could manage.

"Yes," he nodded and turned his eye outward. It made her feel better and soon she did the same. For a little while, they said nothing, but eventually Klaus spoke again. "I am sorry."

She felt his words roll through her and they caused her to flinch.

"Did you do it intentionally?"

"Of course not." He snapped before he could calm himself.

"Then there's nothing to apologize for."

His brow furrowed. K hadn't looked at him once since giving her attention to the people below and he found it incredibly unnerving as well as her seeming disinterest in anything he had to say.

"No, it isn't." he grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. She could see sincerity in his eyes, but her face remained primarily emotionless. "It made me see Mikael. Had I known, I never would have-"

"I know," she nodded. "I know you wouldn't have done it, but…" she paused, "You just looked so happy when you did it." He twitched. "It's just a little hard to get out of my head, that's all. I'm uh…" she stepped out of his touch, "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

Klaus watched as she walked away. He wanted to say something, to apologize more, but he felt himself at a loss.

K would be fine soon, and she knew it, but she was a little uncomfortable at the moment. She couldn't get the image out of her mind and it made her a bit uncomfortable. Klaus just looked so damn happy to have ripped her throat out.

In their world, she knew she couldn't take instances like this personally, and when being forced to see delusions, even less so, but again, it was hard to shake. There was no doubt that she'd forgive him because she knew Klaus was possessed, that he had no control, just… maybe not right away. That look of utter joy was hard to forget.


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:** Middle chapter to tie you over until next week. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 14**

K was lying in the bed she shared with Klaus. She was staring blankly towards the covered windows. Sleep didn't truly seem to be willing to come to her and it was frustrating to say the least. So, for hours it felt, K laid on her side, curled into her pillow and picking lazily at the linens. It was something to busily pass the time until sleep finally came.

Eventually, she gave up entirely and decided to simply walk through the manor as though it may help.

Her bare feet fell against the once-pristine floors now littered with debris, plant life, dirt and all manner of broken things. Carpet was scorched or torn up, someone had taken an axe to the hardwood or simply ripped it up with their bare hands, and the walls looked just as bad. Clearly, those who'd remained within the Mikaelson home alongside Marcel that night took their time and had fun destroying the famed family's things.

Perhaps the only thing that actually broke K's heart was the antiques and paintings that had been destroyed along with everything else. Much of it had been bought brand new, were beautifully crafted pieces and one of a kind. The paintings were the same. Those of Klaus were destroyed completely. The only reason K knew they were his was because of the remnants of a plaque at the base of the frame. Elijah's were ripped and partially burned and Rebekah's were sliced through. The paintings were centuries old and something she was sure Hope would have liked, but it didn't matter now.

Avoiding some glass from a few broken sconces, K stepped into the study on the second floor. Her heart broke further when she saw the state of it. K hadn't been given time to really explore the grounds and now she regretted doing so.

Books were torn from the shelves and rested in random singed or ashy piles which meant they'd been used for kindling. Book burning was always something that tore at K and she'd seen a fair few.

Shelves were broken, so was furniture, and the piano now rested at an angle. One of the legs had been splintered, but not broken entirely. Still, she somehow knew that even leaning against it would cause the instrument to topple.

K approached the piece and tenderly pushed it with her fingertips. It groaned, creaked and moved much more than it should have. She knew it'd fall. Glancing around, she noticed the bench was intact. Reaching for it, she slid it under the weakened side. When the piano eventually fell, it would still fall a decent distance, but it wouldn't be much worse than it was at that moment. With it 'safe', K retrieved the nearest chair and took a seat.

Her fingers danced along the keys to test the quality. Some of the strings were out of tune, but not so bad it would greatly detract from anything played. Honestly, only someone who knew pianos well would be able to hear the difference.

Klaus stood on the balcony in Hope's vacant room and stared out into the abandoned city below. It was so late that no one seemed to be out, which he thought strange since Marti Gras was on the horizon and the tourists would soon flock. Perhaps it was so quiet because dawn neared? He could almost see the sky lightening and smelled the fresh air of a coming day. It was likely near six in the morning, so it made sense.

As he sipped his drink and contemplated the hell he found himself in, he heard the distant sound of music. Curious as to who may be playing –though having inkling- he went in search of it.

He recognized the tune almost immediately and was a bit proud of the fact. It let him know that his ear hadn't faded through the years. It was Beethoven's _Moonlight Sonata_ , a beautiful and somber piece that he'd always quite enjoyed for its simplicity and strength.

Even without his heightened senses to guide him, Klaus knew where the only piano on the grounds rested and sought it out easily. He remained as silent as he could because he knew that if K were to hear or see him, she'd likely stop playing and he wanted to enjoy the concert for as long as she'd let him.

When he made it to the library door, Klaus leaned against the wall and looked over his shoulder, through the threshold to see her sitting at the broken and beaten piano. He felt himself pause at the sight.

The piano rested in the back corner of the room so that when it was open, the sound would better fill the space. It faced the door for the same reason, and so whoever played could see their audience. Behind her was the wall of wrecked bookshelves, a hint of the fireplace was within his sight and the drapes to her left hung in tatters. The sheer curtains were singed and dotted with soot and ash; the deep red drapes were almost all torn from their rings and sliced through.

The room was filled with dark hues from ash or scorch, desolate and destroyed. It looked like any apocalyptic sight and was made even more haunting by the few random candles that hadn't been extinguished for some unknown reason. It was a sad scene, depressing, save the young woman at the piano itself. K wore a white shirt to sleep in that night and with her ebony hair thrown over the front of her shoulder and the pristine fabric accompanied by her fair skin, she nearly glowed. She was the only clean thing in the room and the stark contrast of it made the artist within him stir just as much as the haunting melody.

Klaus wished he had his camera, but was glad for something else. Reaching into his back pocket, he retrieved his cellphone. Just as the morning light began to seep in through the worn drapes and tint the room with a soft light, he took his pictures. K remained ignorant to even being watched, let alone photographed.

K continued to play for some time. She played until coming to a natural stopping point perhaps twenty minutes into the song, where the music naturally dipped and it could be easily ended. When she let the last note resonate and the string stop on its own, she took her hands from the dusty and dirty keys and rested them in her lap. She found herself staring blankly at the random fingerprints she'd left behind on each key she touched.

Thinking it finally safe, Klaus decided to step into the room. As soon as he stood in the threshold, K noticed him and looked up like he knew she would. He was glad he'd stayed hidden to listen.

K gave him a gentle smile which he managed to return as he stepped to her side.

"You seem rather fond of Beethoven." He said in a soft, quiet voice as he made it to her.

"I am," she nodded in a voice to match. "Sentimentality, I suppose. He was the first thing I learned to play."

With having nowhere to sit, Klaus instead knelt at K's side, which she thought a bit odd since he had to look up at her as a result.

"I'm sorry." He said.

K's brows tugged together and slowly climbed high on her forehead as a smile twitched at her lips. She thought his repeated apologies were sweet.

"I know," she replied. "I know, Nik. I don't blame you for it, really."

His expression became a bit pained and as a result, she reached out to touch his cheek, but quickly stopped herself. Her fingers were dirty from playing. Klaus noticed her blackened fingertips and tenderly took her hands into his. He turned them over to see each of the ten digits darkened and sighed.

"Despite best intentions to remain pure in this world, darkness will always infect those foolish enough to try and create beauty."

K tilted her head curiously to the side as she stared at the man examining her hands. The words he spoke and the way he spoke them made her wonder where he'd heard them in the first place, more than their content.

"Who said that?" she asked.

Klaus looked up and smiled weakly.

"Me," he replied.

She felt herself smile just as softly as he had. She shook her head at him and his eloquent way with words. Perhaps she shouldn't have been surprised in the least.

But they were how Klaus felt. He viewed K as someone –perhaps not _pure_ \- but a great deal more innocent than his family, and that she'd slowly become tainted by them through the years. It seemed there wasn't a single horrible thing that had happened in her life that couldn't be traced back to a Mikaelson. More than once through the millennia, he'd felt that he found a poor, innocent little child that day and twisted her into something else and while the 'infection' was slow and he still viewed her in a much higher regard than himself, he knew everything dark about her was his doing. And while he viewed her as angelic compared to himself, Klaus knew that every tragedy, every life she had to take, everything she had to do that would chip at one's soul, was his fault.

It made him afraid that the same would happen with Hope.

And though Klaus was well aware he was dragging K down into his world, the world of paranoia, hatred and rage, he couldn't save her. He refused, in fact, because saving her meant letting her go and that was simply something he wouldn't do.

"Can't you sleep?" she asked him after a few moments of silence.

"No," he shook his head.

"What happened in there?" she pointed towards his head. "What did the Hollow do?"

Klaus flinched and looked away for a moment.

"It played on my fears," he eventually looked at her again, "Nothing more."

K slowly slipped from her seat and –to his surprise- knelt on the ground in front of him.

"Don't dismiss it." She told him honestly, "Don't underestimate it again, either. It is ancient, Nik, and angry and we don't know just how powerful yet. Please don't dismiss this thing."

He did his best to give her a reassuring smile, but she didn't seem fooled and he knew it.

"I'm serious," she said as she shoved his shoulder just enough to shift his weight. "I know you're arrogant," he cocked a brow, "but be reasonable, too."

The smile that formed was more genuine than the others. He couldn't help it. She seemed perpetually worried about him and he found it endearing.

"Worried for me, darling?" he openly teased.

"Of course." She said without hesitation. "You're an idiot."

His cocky grin faltered with made hers grow. He glowered at her, but the expression held no strength.

~!~

K gave Hayley a heads up about her plans that day so that she could, in turn, do the same with Mary. Low in behold, when K arrived at the bayou cabin, Mary was standing outside with her arms crossed over her chest, eying the vampire sternly. K forced a smile and Mary didn't bother.

"Mary," she greeted with a stilted nod of the head as she descended the small hill towards the shack.

"Kali," the aged wolf replied tightly.

"Is-"

Before K could finish the sentence, the front door flew open and Hope emerged, beaming wide and immediately lifting any sadness or worry K had. Seeing her sparkling eyes and her smile always brought K back from the brink.

"Mama!" she bellowed as she ran towards the vampire.

K noticed Mary flinch at the greeting, but said nothing of it. Instead, she knelt down and instantly wrapped her arms around the little girl, lifting her into the air when she had.

"That's what I'm talkin' about." She sighed as she hugged Hope as tightly as she dared. "Ugh, I missed you."

"It's only been a day." Hope laughed as she pulled back just enough to look at the vampire.

"So?" K squeaked. "Might as well be thirty years."

Hope continued to smile and shook her head.

"I brought you something." She said. Hope immediately glanced to the satchel on K's shoulder. "Wanna see what it is?"

Hope nodded repeatedly and shuffled to get out of K's arms. Laughing, the vampire did just that. She knelt before Hope and sifted through her satchel. A moment later, she pulled out a brand new sketch book and a metal case of very nice and rather expensive colored pencils. Hope's face lit up.

"Maybe you can draw me a picture of the cabin, or the bayou?"

"Yeah," she nodded repeatedly as she happily –greedily- reached for the supplies.

"Ah," K chided quickly as she pulled them back. "What do you say?"

"Thank you!" she beamed.

"There's my girl." K smiled as she handed over the bits.

Hope clutched them tightly, lunged forward to kiss K on the cheek in gratitude and charged for the house.

"Come on, mama!" she called back. "Come see what I've already drawn already."

K followed, but stopped. She didn't even step foot on the porch. When she reached the edge of it, she glanced briefly to Mary who still wore the sour expression.

"No can do, sweetie. You know the rules."

Hope's brows came together as she slowly approached the door again. It seemed to only just don on her that K couldn't enter without being invited. While she knew the fact was true of all vampires and that K was one such creature, it was never an issue before. In fact, Hope couldn't remember K ever being unable to enter a building.

"How about instead, if it's okay with Granny Mary, we sit on the dock?"

Hope and K both looked to the older woman who seemed to want to come through her skin, but give Hope time with her 'mother'. She fought with the idea and was about to reluctantly agree until she saw Klaus suddenly appear on the hilltop. Her resolve suddenly hardened, despite Hope's happy declaration that her father was there. When she ran passed K to Klaus, the vampire turned her attention back to Mary.

"He ain't comin' near this house." She growled to K.

"An hour." K told her honestly. "We just want an hour with her, and I'll keep him under control."

Mary openly scoffed and rolled her eyes. K was about to speak again, but Klaus was drawing near and drew not only Mary's eye, but spoke before K could.

"Well, well, well," he chimed in his falsely charming voice as he walked down the hill with Hope's hand in his. "How are you, Mary, hm? The years haven't been kind to you, have they?"

" _Nik_ ," K hissed through her teeth before switching languages, " _Apologize to her."_ He seemed shocked when he looked at K. _"Apologize to her because Hope just heard you insult her grandmother."_

" _That woman is_ _not_ _her grandmother."_

" _Well to Hope she is. Now, apologize."_

K was resolute and stared daggers at Klaus. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, looked from the angry K, to the irate Mary and then to the confused Hope. He sighed at the sight of her.

"Apologies, Mary." he said as he looked back to the elder wolf, "I misspoke." The apology looked like it caused Klaus physical pain, which it probably did given his dislike of Mary.

She seemed mildly surprised by the sentiment, but her discomfort towards the pair was palpable and outweighed her shock. K turned her attention back to Mary.

"May we sit on your dock?" she asked much more politely than anything that would have left Klaus' lips.

Again, Mary seemed reluctant, but she didn't want to deny Hope the chance now that the pair was already there.

"One hour." She said sharply.

K nodded and Klaus glared, but one hour was enough. Still holding Hope's hand, Klaus let her lead them towards the sitting area on the dock.

Shortly after taking their seats, K told Hope to go inside and grab the new supplies she'd left there.

"Mama," Hope said as she emerged from the dwelling, "Why hasn't Mary invited you into her house?"

"Because she doesn't want to." K answered casually.

"But why?" she continued as she climbed into a chair between K and Klaus. "We're all family, right?"

Klaus opened his mouth to likely refute the statement, but K shot his a stare that made him hesitate. He clenched his jaw tightly as a response.

"Of course, sweetie," K answered. Klaus rolled his eyes, but wisely didn't speak. "But everybody's allowed to have somewhere they feel safe, right?" Hope nodded. "Well, this is that for Granny Mary."

"But you're not one of the bad vampires."

K smiled softly. She couldn't help it.

"So?" she shrugged playfully. "If she doesn't want vampires to come inside, she doesn't have to let them, does she?" Hope shook her head. "Okay then. And by the way, that goes for everyone, okay? Not just vampires. If someone doesn't invite you into their home, then that's their choice, okay?" Hope nodded again.

"Perhaps they'd offer," Klaus chimed in a happy voice, "if you asked really, _really_ nicely."

Hope smiled at the way he spoke, while K rolled her eyes. He may have veiled his meaning from his daughter, but K was well aware that he meant any number of cruel things. Klaus' version of really, _really_ nicely was either compulsion, threats, or simply burning the house down around the inhabitants.

Still grinning to himself, the pair soon began to color and draw with Hope as they had many times before. They talked about things, she asked questions and Klaus and K answered them, and they drew a handful of pictures before it came time for the adults to leave.

"But why?" Hope asked with a sad sigh.

"I'm sorry, my darling." Klaus said as he knelt in front of his daughter, "But there are still dangers that run rampant and we must tend to them."

Hope nodded like a disappointed child would, so deeply her chin touched her chest. Klaus was amazed that the action actually broke his heart. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly as a result.

"I love you, littlest wolf."

"Love you too, dad." She replied as they parted.

K took his place and hugged Hope tightly, too.

"We'll come back again soon." She said as they parted, "In the meantime, draw me something pretty." Hope smiled and nodded. "Oh," K dug into her satchel and pulled out a small wrapped rectangle. "And give this to Mary for me, please?"

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

"Just something I think she'll like." K offered a kind smile as she leaned forward, kissed Hope's cheek. "Love you, sweetheart."

"Love you, mama."

Before they parted, K offered her pinky. Hope's smile widened. Klaus watched curiously as Hope hooked her pinky with K's and the pair leaned forward, kissing the sides of their curled fists before parting.

"Bye, baby."

Hope waved to both Klaus and K as they walked away and eventually disappeared.

Mary had remained inside for the majority of the conversation and only emerged in the doorway once the vampires were gone. When she did, she noticed the gift K had given Hope. It made her instantly uncomfortable.

"Mama wanted me to give you this." She said as she offered it to the older woman.

"Thank you, honey." Mary smiled as warmly as she could as she took the rectangle. "Go ahead and head inside. There's some lunch on the table for ya."

Hope nodded and did just that. When she was out of sight, Mary turned a skeptical eye to the 'present'. A part of her –a large, unyielding part- was skeptical of the gift. She didn't want to know what K would give her, but her curiosity was there, too. And whether she wanted to or not, Mary tore open the brown paper wrapping.

To her surprise, it was a photograph. She'd opened it to the back of the frame and turned it over. Mary felt her breath hitch as she gasped softly. Her eyes instantly watered. There, staring back at her was a picture of Jackson and Hayley.

It was the Christmas photo K and Hayley had carried with them for years, but K had cropped out everyone else. The picture she gave Mary was simply Jackson standing behind Hayley on an ornate couch with baby Hope in her lap. Klaus had been relatively close to the pair since his daughter was right there, but K was clever and faded the edges to black to hide the hint of the hybrid's arm that remained.

Whether they got along or not, K knew that the Christmas picture was the last photo of Jackson and Mary would want it.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN:** Enjoy you guys!

 **Chapter 15**

 _Season 4, Episode 6_

Bag of Cobras

Inside Rousseau's, Hayley felt she finally had the chance to ask something that had lingering in the back of her mind.

"Hey Freya," Hayley chimed while she had the chance, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"What is it?" she asked as she gently spun her drink from side to side on the countertop.

She found herself hoping that whatever Hayley was about to ask would be decidedly simpler compared to her previous request. While the witch had no issue giving Hayley a chance to see her parents, from what she understood, their passing was not simply violent, but 'Mikaelson' violent.

"It's about Kali."

"What about her?"

"Is…" Hayley fell over the words. Like before when she spoke to the vampire herself, Hayley found it difficult to form the question. It seemed too ridiculous. "Is it possible for a vampire to become a hybrid?"

"Well, based on what we've seen from Kali, I'd say she's as close as is possible." She shrugged. While intrigued by the query, it was something they'd all discussed before, years ago in fact. "Shouldn't you know this?" she asked honestly. "You have spent the last five years with her."

"Yeah, but… look, something's different." She said. "When Klaus and Marcel were stuck in that spell by the Hollow, and she was trying to get to him, her eyes were like mine." Freya's brows came together curiously. "I saw them. They were black and yellow, not red and green, like normal."

"Are you certain?"

Hayley nodded emphatically as though it would help instill her point.

"She was pushing against the barrier spell trying to get through it. She was shaking and when I touched her, her skin felt like fire. It wasn't normal. So, is it possible for her to become a hybrid? A real hybrid?"

"I… I don't know. It's never happened before." Freya's curious mind began to take hold. "Vampires are –for all intents and purposes- dead, and once dead, something shouldn't be able to become 'alive' again."

Hayley cocked a single, sarcastic brow.

"Seriously?" she asked in a tone to match.

Freya scowled lightly. Both knew what she meant. Hayley was referring to everyone's inability to stay dead and how the impossible often becomes possible around them.

"But this is different." She said flatly. "Werewolves turn because they were born werewolves. They were never human. You can't become a wolf if you're bitten like you can a vampire, so you're introducing the vampire to the werewolf and because the wolf isn't transferable without heredity, then no, it shouldn't be possible."

"Yeah, but, she's like Klaus now." Hayley defended. She was willing to offer the counter point just so Freya could prove her wrong. She wanted to be wrong. "You said it yourself. She's a trans… a supernatural trans… morgrification…"

Hayley's explanation lost a bit towards the end since she'd forgotten exactly what the witch had classified K. Her choice of words, however, caused Freya to smirk.

"Supernatural transmutation," Freya said. Hayley nodded. "Transmutation was just a term used by evolutionists to explain how things changed through the years. I called her that because she evolved into a better vampire: no sunlight, no stakes, none of their weaknesses. It doesn't refer to one species becoming something else entirely."

"Isn't that what evolution is?" she asked sarcastically causing Freya to glower. She knew the hybrid was being intentionally difficult.

"Here, I'll be simple with it." She said a bit tensely. Hayley knew it was because of her previous comment. "Wolves are alive. You can add stuff to something alive because they can still evolve. Vampires are dead. They're stuck like that. If she'd been a wolf, yeah, she could be a hybrid, but she wasn't. She was human. She _can't_ change."

Hayley took a deep breath and squared herself on Freya because she knew she was about to shatter the witch's declaration.

"And vampires can't have kids. And someone can't be born part witch, part wolf, and part vampire." She said evenly. Freya's expression began to fall. "And nothing can be stronger than an Original. And people can't come back from the dead. And you can't change bodies like you change clothes!"

"What is your point?!" Freya demanded. Their conversation had suddenly become an argument. "Do you want her to be a hybrid too?!"

"I want to know what's going on!" she said desperately. "I want to know if she's going to suddenly get so mad that she'll turn into a wolf."

As Hayley's echo began to fade, the air turned silent. For a split second, all of Rousseau's went deadly quiet. Their eyes danced around to all of those staring back at them. With a clearing of the throat, they turned their backs on the room and back to each other.

The two stared at one another, each wanting answers, but neither having any to give. Eventually, Freya sighed.

"I don't know." She finally said in a somber tone. "If you saw what you say you have, then it's likely latent, buried deep down inside. From the sounds of it, it only came to the surface because she was using every bit of strength she possessed to break the spell. I doubt she'll suddenly turn, but with so much of Nik's blood in her body, I'm not certain what could happen."

Hayley reluctantly began to nod. She knew it was the best she could get in the ways of an answer. It was simply another unknown, one of the many that surrounded the Mikaelson family.

~!~

Mikaelson Manor was a flurry of activity and while it might have warmed one's heart at one point in time, it made K –not nervous- but apprehensive. She felt she knew the plan almost before it had been made. Then again, wasn't it always the same? Death.

But she couldn't be worried about that now, no. She had to get dressed. She had to put on that damn gown, smile to the world and pretend she wasn't entirely certain she'd be swimming in blood later that night.

"Is something wrong, darling?" Klaus asked as he approached her from behind.

K glanced briefly over her shoulder to see him coming closer. She took a breath and sighed softly as she hung her garment bag on the top of a nearby door.

"I don't like this." She admitted. When he reached her side, he turned to face her. "I don't like having that many people in this house with so much broken wood around."

His full lips twitched into a smirk. While most –if not all- of the destruction left in Marcel's wake had been cleared, her comment was understood for what it was. She was stating, in the simplest sense, that the Mikaelsons were bodies in chummed water, surrounded by sharks. While he didn't think they were helpless, he had to agree with her assessment.

"You have no reason to worry, my darling." He reached forward and gently ran his fingertips along the space between her shoulders. "We Mikaelsons shall be as we always are, safe."

"Are you?" she openly challenged. "Because, I seem to remember spending the last five years looking for ways to pull you out of your last 'epic sacrifice' and less than a week awake, you and your siblings seem more than willing to put all of that effort to waste."

His smile faltered just a bit. She wasn't wrong and that's what made his otherwise cocky exterior crack.

"Sweetheart," he gently slid his hands around her waist as he stepped closer. "I assure you, there is nothing to worry about."

She arched a single brow as she stared back at him. Klaus –almost desperately- wanted her to believe the lie just to save himself from her worries, but he knew better. K had been around his family long enough, been alive in this world long enough, to know the truth of things. She wasn't a stupid woman, and he knew it.

"Faith, darling." He tenderly ran the back of his fingers along the curve of her jaw. "At least have faith that we will do as we always do."

"Which is?"

His smirk returned as he said, "Survive."

K let out a sigh and rolled her eyes which only caused his smile to grow. Leaning forward, he kissed her softly and gave her the room to get ready. Shaking her head, K did her best to steel herself for what was coming. It wasn't that she was afraid of the fight that may indeed happen, more that she was concerned that once the violence started, it wouldn't end. While Hope was gone for the moment, she would return and K didn't want her coming home to the aftermath of whatever happened that night.

~!~

Klaus was in one of the many rooms open enough for dancing with his arms wrapped around Sophya.

"Do you always flirt with women who wish you dead?" she asked with collected coolness.

"I do, in fact." He replied with a smile. "That was one of the things that drew me to my wife."

Sophya's eyes narrowed slightly, but didn't remain in their confused state for long.

"I heard something about that while you were in your dungeon." She said. "Kali, isn't it?"

"It is." He nodded.

"Tell me, what is wrong in a woman's mind to make her want to marry something like you?"

His smile grew as his brows rose high on his forehead. He was amused and couldn't help it.

"Ours is a wonderfully _unique_ history."

"Hm," Sophya mumbled. As they continued to move across the floor, he noticed her happily flick her wrist to show him –yet again- the thing on her wrist.

"And another person with whom you'd have to deal should you attack me with that garish creation."

"A debutant?" Sophya cocked a sarcastic brow as they glided along the floor. "I think I can handle someone like that."

The chuckle that broke from Klaus' lips was subtle in volume, but borderline obscene. It was as though he knew something she didn't and it made the mercenary in the skimpy dress a little uncomfortable.

"I can assure you, my dear, nothing could be further from the truth." He spun them along the dance floor. "Kali is," he took a deep breath and sighed almost longingly, as though trying to show Sophya just how impressed he was with the young woman in question, "She is wonderfully skilled when it comes to violence. She is, after all, the Original Ripper."

He noticed Sophya flinch just a bit and while she may have tried to hide it, Klaus was a perceptive man. He had to admit he rather liked the way K's reputation made someone else react. It stirred something a touch more than pride in her.

"And what makes you think she'd be willing to go up against something like the Hollow for anyone in your family, hm?" Sophya pried. "She can't be _that_ loyal to you people. Even if she's married to you, I doubt she'd be willing to die for Freya, Elijah, your other siblings."

The smirk on his lips grew exponentially. He found himself unable to fight the action, especially when it was clear Sophya either hadn't done her homework, or hadn't done it well enough.

"We grew up together." He said, much to Sophya's shock. But his statement wasn't wrong. While he might have been an adult when they met, one could argue that he didn't actually 'grow up' until afterwards. "We've known one another for a thousand years, so please, if you'd wish to test your rather weak theory, be my guest. But I can assure you, she is decidedly more vicious than I when crossed."

Klaus didn't know if his last statement was true, but something told him K was at least close, and his words had the desired effect. He felt Sophya scoot her wrist just a touch further from his neck. He had to fight the urge to smile obnoxiously and instead let his lips remain in a smirk.

As he and the young woman continued to dance and speak, a flash of color caught his eye. Klaus felt his feet slow and his attention soon divert from the assassin in favor of something much more interesting.

"Ah," he chimed, "Here comes the Misses now."

Sophya's gaze followed his. It was easy to see who he was speaking about. K did stand out of the crowd.

As Freya had with her silvery white dress, K wore something other than black. She wore brilliant red. The gown was of the mermaid style and sculpted perfectly to her body before flaring out just above her knees into a wonderful cascade of pleats and folds. It even trailed softly behind her in a train.

With her long hair swept to the side and draped over her shoulder in gentle waves and the rest perfectly quaffed to mirror that of vintage Hollywood elegance, she definitely stood out in a crowd.

She descended the staircase into the main courtyard, visible to Klaus and his dancing partner from the room they were in. Klaus felt his mind drifting back to the masked ball Marcel held nearly a decade prior and her appearance then. She wore a similar shade that night, too, but she was vastly different now. Surrounded in the secrets he's learned since then, the life they'd lived together and the things she went through the five years he was gone, Klaus was unable to deny the strong –albeit a bit frightening- power K radiated.

And she was his.

It made his insides flutter like a swooning girl's, and he wasn't certain he didn't like it. It'd been a long time since he felt something similar.

As her eyes scanned the party, they fell eventually to him. His smile remained, but one didn't form at her lips. He wasn't surprised given he was currently wrapped around another, but he knew she'd understand the reason. And she would, but that didn't mean she didn't cock a warning brow from her stance across the room.

"Is she jealous?" Sophya asked leadingly.

Klaus turned his gaze to her and furrowed both brows as he struggled to keep from smiling outright. Sophya fought the scowl at his clear, silent mocking to her words.

"Now then," he decided to move passed her ridiculous question in favor of more important things. "I believe we were discussing the rather important nature of your plan to kill me and my entire relation."

In the distance, K rolled her eyes. While she would have liked to go over there and 'lay claim' to Klaus, there was no need, nor did she wish to be that kind of person. She trusted him, strangely enough, and had made herself abundantly clear when he was gallivanting with Genevieve how she would react should he touch another woman inappropriately. While the thought made it sound as though she was a jealous woman, she knew it was nothing less than Klaus would do.

K paused. Perhaps that wasn't a good thing…

As she approached the bar, K spotted Vincent not far and smelled a hint of blood when she neared. He was in the process of wiping it from his nose.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

His attention shot to her. She couldn't tell if he was nervous, afraid, or angry. The longer she spent at his side, the more she realized it was a combination of all three.

"I'm fine." He said sharply.

K arched a delicate brow. "Have I done something to you? Insulted you? Threatened you?" He eyed her curiously and shook his head. "Then why are you so angry with me?" she noticed his shoulders slump just a bit as he dabbed his nose once more and averted her eyes. "Or is it the situation?"

"It's everything." He admitted. "It's this damn Hollow, it's your _horrible_ family," surprise took her face, not that he hated the Mikaelsons, but because of how vehemently he spoke that single word, "and it's that we have no idea how far this thing goes."

"Look,"

"Don't," he said quickly as he pointed a stern finger at her. "Don't do that. Your people already tried that same shit. I don't need more of it."

K was confused for a moment, but only a moment. She quickly realized that he was expecting her to placate him like the others did, to try and explain that for peace they were going to do whatever they wanted regardless of how anyone felt about it. But she wasn't.

"First of all, rude." She told him simply. "And secondly, you have no idea what I was going to say, so snapping at me, being an overall ass, is –again- just rude."

Vincent's brows furrowed as he stared at K. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of the random direction the conversation was heading, and his confusion marked his face.

"May I speak now?"

"Sure…" he muttered. Again, he didn't know what to make of the moment.

"I was going to say, things are going to get much worse." She replied. Vincent's face immediately fell. "You and I both know it, with something like this, horrible things will happen."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?"

"I never said I was going to try and make you feel better." She told him honestly, "What I am going to try and do is keep the violence down."

He eyed her suspiciously.

"You think you can control them or something?"

"I'm not their handler." She snapped back indignantly. "They're not a bunch of vicious ani…" her voice trailed off. She had meant to say they weren't animals, but it wasn't as though she had much proof to the contrary, and she knew it. Clearing her throat, K continued, "Anyway, what I mean is, I want you to know that I don't want a bunch of frivolous deaths, either. I don't want them to go around killing any and every person they come across, so I'm going to do what I can to keep that from happening."

"Why?" he asked. "Why would you do that for me?"

"I'm not doing it for you." She said as though it should have been obvious. "I'm doing it for Hope." His confusion returned. "I'm doing it so she doesn't have to be afraid of her family. I want her to be proud of them and I want to hide the truth from her as long as I can."

"And what truth is that?"

The look on K's face was almost sad. It was a strange mix of apologetic and remorseful that he didn't like. In truth, it made Vincent just a bit uncomfortable to see because it made him see her as human.

"That we're all monsters." She said honestly. "She'll learn it eventually, there's no way to escape what all of us have left in our wakes, but I don't want her to know it now. So, like I said, I'm going to do whatever I can to make sure the truth doesn't reach her just yet."

He said nothing for a moment as he let what she said sink in. He was a little disarmed by it. But then he thought about the little he knew about K. She was a reasonable woman, from what he remembered. At least he never saw her burst into fits of random rage like her paramour, which was a plus.

It didn't mean he trusted her completely, however. Vincent wasn't stupid enough for something like that.

After silence stretched between them and K realized there was nothing else to say, she retrieved the drink she'd gone to the bar to get, offered Vincent a gentle nod, and slipped back into the crowd.

~!~

The night ended as they always seemed to, with blood on the floor and one less person left breathing. While K wasn't sad to see Dominic the casualty, it still raised the question of how she was meant to keep her word. How was she supposed to ensure there was minimal death when there were so many worthy of it? And worse yet, it seemed Klaus may not be the one she had to watch closely.

K found herself standing in the room she shared with Klaus on the balcony overlooking the street below. It had become somewhere she could go to think, and that moment was no different. She drowned everything else out in favor of trying to steady her mind.

A body. The Hollow was after a body and it needed sacrifice in order to accomplish it.

Tunde's blade was gone, Hayley came home with a jaw bone –of all things- and the air felt just like it did before Dahlia came for them. It was electric and heavy. Perhaps it was something to with witches and magic? She didn't know, but it made her stomach turn.

Klaus entered his bedroom after speaking with Sophya and Elijah to find K standing on the balcony. Her hands rested against the wrought iron and while her stand may seem relaxed to someone on the outside, he could clear see the tension in her shoulders. With a hand in his pockets, he stepped closer.

When he reached her, Klaus gently rested his hands on her hips and stood close enough to press his chest to her back. K did little more than turn her head to the side in acknowledgement. Klaus dipped forward and kissed the side of her neck just behind her jaw and below her ear.

K sighed softly, moved into the action briefly before turning her attention once more out to the scene below. Klaus noted her cool demeanor and felt himself wonder if it was his doing.

"Tell me what bothers you." He said.

"Do you really have to ask?"

"I'd like to know," he said as he slipped around to her front to better look at her, "Perhaps there's something I can do."

She shook her head softly and turned her attention to him.

"I doubt it." She told him honestly. "The sooner we're out of New Orleans, the better. I swear I can feel it, something slithering just beneath the surface."

He smiled crookedly. "Well," he said as he took her hand and pulled her closer, "we'll do as we always do and weather the inevitable storm."

"Hm,"

Klaus reached forward and gently touched her cheek.

"You looked beautiful this evening." He told her sincerely. "Perhaps we should retire for the evening."

"Hm," she muttered again.

His smile grew just a bit before he leaned forward and kissed her gently. Together, they stepped back into the room to disrobe and put on their nightclothes, all the while well aware that nothing was okay. As it always seemed to be when they were in New Orleans, something horrible was lingering just within the shadows, waiting to devour them and everything they loved.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN:** Enjoy! A bit long, but let me know what you think.

 **Chapter 16**

High Water and the Devil's Daughter  


 _Season 4, Episode 7  
_

K and Hayley sat in the library going through some of the multitude of boxes that seemed to have come from nowhere. Honestly, it was as though they'd magically appeared from each fleck of dust they'd swept away.

"How can we have so much crap?" Hayley sighed as she set one box aside and took another.

K scoffed and snorted a small laugh causing the hybrid to look at her through her lashes.

"What?" Hayley asked with a light smirk of her own.

"Nothing," K smiled, "It's just… this," she motioned around the room, "Is definitely not that much."

"Well excuse me for not having a thousand years of junk." She replied sarcastically.

K did little more than shrug a single shoulder and continued helping her search. There was little else either of them could do now that they were locked inside the manor.

"Having a yard sale, are we?" Klaus chimed as he stepped into the room.

"I'm just going through some stuff," Hayley said. Klaus continued deeper into the room and leaned forward, kissing K on the top of the head when he reached her side. He gently placed his hand on the back of her shoulders as he looked over everything. "See what stays and what can be donated."

"Look," he sighed, "I found Hope in the attic, riffling through some of the rubbish. She's restless."

"She's not restless, she's bored." Hayley said. "Most kids her age would be at school, they'd have friends to play with."

"Well once Freya teaches her to hone her power, she won't need friends." Klaus told them. "She'll be worshipped."

K and Hayley sent each other the same sarcastic _is he serious_ look at Klaus' words.

"Sweetheart," K said as she shifted to look up at the man beside her. "She doesn't want to be worshipped." She tried to hide the gentle laugh to her words, but the ridiculousness of the conversation prevented her from taking it seriously. "She just… wants someone to hold the other end of the jump rope. Ya know, that isn't me or Hayley."

Hayley smiled lightly, but Klaus appeared un-amused.

"She'll be above such things," he muttered in a calmer voice than the others expected, "She'll have power enough to protect herself from everything and we won't have to trap her in paltry boundary spells, just to keep her safe."

"Hey," K's voice was a little stern, but she kept it kind. Hayley had heard it more than a dozen times before when K was going to discipline Hope without being mean. Taking Klaus' hand, K guided him in front of her again so she could meet his eye. "She is a child, Nik, a child that just happens to be powerful, but that's not what she is. Okay? Just… just try to remember that."

"What makes you think I've forgotten?"

She cocked a single brow as she eyed him.

"She will be worshipped? Playing games will be beneath her?" she countered.

He grumbled and averted his gaze from hers. Sometimes he was prone to poetic ramblings –and they knew it-, but they were all well aware that Klaus was serious, too.

"Hey," Hayley chimed softly from behind. Klaus turned and his and K's attention drifted to her. "Thanks, by the way, for helping to keep violence out of the house." A teasing smile touched her lips. "I know it's hard for you not to kill people all the time."

K chuckled lightly while Klaus gave Hayley an 'evil' glower that held no power whatsoever.

"We'll protect her innocence as long as we can." He said proudly. "All of us. We know the importance of that. No one protected ours."

"Well," K kissed his knuckles lightly as she smiled up at him, "You didn't do half bad."

Klaus smiled genuinely down at her. He appreciated her words, but he didn't believe them at all. She'd known about monsters, goblins and ghouls since before her teens and mostly at his hands.

"Maybe you can help us go through this stuff," Hayley offered, "Help us find something useful."

Klaus nodded and stepped towards a box. He knelt down as he peered inside.

"Ah, what's this?" he asked playfully, " _How to Defeat the Hollow, Volume One._ Right here next to the Gun 'n Roses albums." The sarcasm was thick in his voice and his taunting smirk was enough to make K and Hayley roll their eyes. "Oh sweet child o' mine."

"Oh my god," K laughed as she shook her head at him.

~!~

It felt like hours passed as they continued to move through boxes. Klaus felt himself hesitate on pictures of Hope with Jackson and Hayley, looking the proper family. K saw his face fall.

"I have something for you." She said as she set some clothes into a donation box. Klaus glanced up. "A journal I kept while Hope was growing."

"Really?" he seemed intrigued.

K smiled and nodded. "I've been meaning to give it to you, but things have been a little hectic lately. I kept tabs on her growing through the years, and there's a box of pictures, too."

The smile that touched his lips was genuine and relieved. He seemed honestly happy that there was proof of his daughter growing through the years safely tucked away somewhere for him to see and read.

"I can't get ahold of Elijah." Hayley said as she reentered the room.

"I'll try Freya," Klaus offered her the photos, "You may wish to keep these."

As she handled the glossy paper delicately, Hayley smiled.

"Ya know, we should take more pictures."

"There's a reason vampires stay away from photographs." Klaus said from his spot around the room.

K rolled her eyes. "We should, now that everyone's awake."

"Now your ridiculous obsession with taking pictures will come in handy." Hayley teased. K glared lightly at her, but smiled regardless.

"Freya isn't picking up, either."

Klaus' terse words snapped the two out of their moment. A twinge of worry began to work its way through the trio.

"I'm sure they're fine." Hayley did her best to keep her voice strong, but she was a bit concerned.

"You know this is a fool's errand," Klaus, on the other hand, immediately became tense. "We're not going to accomplish anything in this mess. I should be out there-"

"Dodging an evil ghost who wants you dead?" K shot back. "No, you're safe here."

"Safe, and entirely useless." Klaus snapped.

"Your daughter needs you." Hayley said just as tersely as the other two were speaking.

" _My daughter_ needs The Hollow purged from this earth." His voice grew in volume.

"Why are you yelling?" Hayley asked. "We're on the same side."

"I can't be trapped here!"

K and Hayley jumped at his outburst while Klaus continued to shift uncertainly on his feet. He was filled with nervous energy and the desire to act. With a glance to each other, Hayley and K suddenly knew why Klaus was so erratic.

"Hey," K slid in front of him, took his arms in her hands and forced Klaus to look at her. "You're okay," her voice stayed soft, "You're not down there anymore, okay? You're safe. This is just a spell for the time being. No one's going to leave you in here."

He met her eyes and she could see his emotions running rampant.

"I could hear the water in the pipes," he told her. "It was like nails on a chalkboard. I was starving. I could smell the blood of the people on the street above, I could hear their heartbeats. My own mind turned against me, taunting me. It was relentless."

K's brows came together. She reached up and tenderly held his jaw in her hands.

"I know." She told him honestly. "Sweetheart, I know. But this isn't the same, you have to know that."

Whether he realized it or not, Klaus was nodding softly. He knew logically that the spell holding him now was nothing like the spell Marcel kept him bound with, but it was a hard thing to look past after spending years locked away like he was.

"Maybe we should stop for the night, hm? Get a drink?"

Again, Klaus nodded. K smiled lightly and gently patted his cheek before taking his hand. She glanced to Hayley and tilted her head to the side, motioning that they should just leave. Hayley nodded and with her pictures in hand, the three of them headed out into the courtyard.

"I'm going to go say goodnight to Hope." Hayley said as she headed for the stairs.

K nodded, but Klaus felt something touch the back of his neck. Something was wrong.

"Hayley, wait."

She barely had time to hesitate and look to him before her neck was snapped. K immediately sailed towards the man who assaulted her and ripped his heart from his chest. The air was electric with the coming fight.

Haunting laughter met their ears the moment the heart touched the ground. K and Klaus turned to see the newly resurrected Dominic appear with a few of his friends.

"Nice boundary spell." He taunted as he approached. "Unfortunately, it only last as long as the witch who cast it."

Both felt a spark of ice stab their hearts.

"Hurting her was a mistake." K growled.

"Was it?" Dominic grinned. "Show me."

The two standing monsters immediately launched themselves into the fight. Broken bones, the sound of flesh hitting flesh, and the smell of blood soon filled the air. Klaus swung the sledgehammer with intent while K grabbed the thorned stake and lobbed it elsewhere, just so it wasn't near the fight.

Klaus cried out and his blood filled the air. K spun to see him with a stake jammed into his back. Her breath was stolen from her and before she could race to his side, K was brought to her knees. She cried out as Dominic used his magic to subdue her.

"Well," he grinned wickedly, "The Hollow is going to have a feast tonight. We'll sacrifice the whole family." Klaus was heavy and drained from the stake, and K could do little more than struggle against the magic, "Your daughter's around here somewhere, isn't she?"

Klaus' eyes turned deadly black and yellow as he glared through his lashes at the witch. He reached for the stake in his back, but his attempt was thwarted by the only other man still standing. Being impaled with wood made the hybrid disturbingly pliable.

K, on the other hand, was livid. She'd never felt such fear and anger before, not even when struggling to save Klaus from the Hollow. As a result, she fought. She fought against the spell holding her and must have made some headway because Dominic's attention soon shifted to her.

As she had before, she called upon every hint of strength she had, every iota of rage to save the little girl she loved more than anything. She knew Dominic would kill Hope if given the chance and she refused to let him.

K bared her teeth, fought against the invisible bonds holding her still and began to shake as she did. Dominic and Klaus watched in stunned horror as she made headway. Shaking uncontrollably, K somehow managed to wrench herself from his grips.

The moment she was on her feet, she ran for the witch and sank her teeth into his throat, tearing violently at him. His screams were choked out within seconds and before anyone could register the action, Dominic's head toppled from his shoulders. K was left standing over his body, breathing heavily and trembling as she did her best to calm. It had been the first time in over a century since she'd been so angry she actually bit someone's head off.

Klaus managed to finally tear the stake from his back and jamb it into the man attempting to keep him down and when the threat was gone, he approached K wearily.

He saw it, he saw it all and it honestly frightened him. As she fought against the magic, K had turned into her vampiric self, but it was at the mention of Hope that everything changed. Klaus –kneeling behind Dominic, therefore able to see K- watched as her eyes began to grow dark. The red was soon choked out by black and her bright green irises quickly glowed yellow. He felt his gut turn.

Hayley was right.

"Kali,"

She turned. For a moment, her eyes continued to reflect the hybrid nature she shouldn't possess until slowly changing back. First they were green and red, and then simply green. Despite the blood dripping from her chin, she was normal once again.

"Hope," she muttered.

Without hesitation, the pair sped through the manor in search of their daughter.

It became clear shortly after that she was no longer on the premises and when Klaus saw the bodies in the tunnels, he knew Marcel had taken her. He fled the compound quickly leaving K behind to tend to the bodies, Freya and Hayley. She was fine with it, actually, because she wasn't certain she could be timid and –horrifyingly enough- Klaus was perhaps the more stable of the two at the moment.

After ensuring that the bodies of the witches who had infiltrated the manor were happily being gobbled up by some rather ravenous –and fat- gators in the bayou, K returned home. God only knew how much weight those reptiles gained from bodies the Mikaelsons threw them alone. They'd likely never have to hunt again.

"Mama,"

Hope's voice came from above and when K glanced skyward, she saw the child standing on the top-floor landing. K immediately turned her back.

"Hey, sweetie." She called loudly enough Hope could hear. "Are you heading to bed?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Why are you turned around?"

"I'm uh… I'm a little dirty right now." K kicked herself for still being covered in blood.

"Well… are you still going to tell me a story?"

"Of course, baby." She said. "Just go ahead and lay down, I'll clean up, and I'll be in there in a second, okay?"

"Okay,"

K kept her back to the courtyard until she heard Hope's footsteps disappear. She growled at being seen. If she hadn't been in such a rush to get the bodies out of the house before Hope saw them, she would have cleaned the blood from her skin, but she hadn't, and Hope likely saw it. Annoyed, she quickly did a she said she would before meeting her daughter.

"Okay," K sighed with a smile as she stepped into the room Hope had claimed as her own. "What would you like to hear tonight?"

Hope scooted over and let K climb into bed with her. K leaned against the headboard while Hope laid on her stomach. They got as comfortable as they could.

Hope thought about what she wanted to hear and while she loved her stories, she had questions, especially after meeting Marcel.

"You said you'd never lie to me, right?"

K immediately felt her gut turn. She already knew what was coming.

"Right," she nodded despite wishing she could lie.

"Okay," she muttered as she thought for a moment. "You've known dad the longest, right? Longer than mom?"

"Yes I have," she said. "I've known him since I was only a little bit older than you are now."

Hope nodded softly. "How come you never told me stories about Marcel?"

K chewed on the inside of her cheek. She didn't want to tell Hope who the man really was because Hope had already stated they were friends –evidently- and knowing the full truth would likely change that. But she knew she had to say something, and it had to be the truth.

"Your dad met Marcel while I wasn't around." She said. "I didn't meet him until around the time you were born and even then, we didn't spend much time together."

"Marcel said he doesn't hate my dad." She picked lazily at her tattered stuffed wolf, "He said you can't hate someone you used to love. Is that true?"

"In some cases, yes, that is true."

Hope shifted. She rolled over until she could look up at K while still keeping her head in the vampire's lap.

"How?" she asked as her face twisted into genuine confusion. "They still hurt each other, though, don't they? Why did dad think Marcel would kill him if they still love each other?"

K's brows came together. She took a deep breath and did her best to ready herself for the incredibly grown up conversation she was about to have with a seven-year-old.

"Okay," she sighed. K lifted Hope and laid her down on her pillow before scooting down on the bed and doing the same. K cradled one of Hayley's pillows as she lay on her side facing her daughter and Hope did the same. "This is going to be confusing and sound crazy, but I'm going to try and explain it as best I can, okay?" Hope nodded and K did the same, "Alright, well, love and hate are very complicated emotions, but a lot of times, nobody really hates anyone. Sometimes, it's because their heart was broken."

"Did dad break Marcel's heart?"

"Yeah baby, he did." She said solemnly. "The last time we were here, and someone your dad used to know was threatening to kill everyone, Marcel lost someone he loved very much, a girl he protected and took care of. She was like his daughter, in some ways, and she died during the fight. And when Marcel confronted your dad, something really bad happened to him. Because of that, Marcel's heart broke and he was angry and blamed all of us for it."

"What happened?" she asked sadly.

"You're still too young for that," K told her softly, "but that's why your dad thinks Marcel wants to hurt him, because of the girl he lost. He thinks Marcel wants to take revenge and now that The Hollow is manipulating people, your dad is afraid Marcel may actually do it."

"Would he?" Hope's little brows pulled together as sadness took her features. "Would Marcel really hurt my dad?"

"On his own? No, I don't think he would." K didn't feel like it was a lie since Marcel had let them all go once before when he could have easily killed all of the Mikaelsons. "But now, with The Hollow, I don't know. That's why your dad kept him in the tunnels, to make sure The Hollow wasn't still using Marcel."

Hope chewed on her bottom lip as she looked down for a moment. K could tell she was processing the information and likely thinking of something else to ask.

"Mama," she said when she met K's eyes again, "do you love dad?"

K's lips twisted with a soft, endearing smile as she looked back at Hope.

"Yeah, sweetie, I do." She said honestly, "Very much."

Hope's face lit up as she smiled back. K laughed softly at how happy Hope seemed to be hearing that K actually loved Klaus.

"But it's okay," K reached forward and tenderly threaded Hope's hair through her fingers to move it out of her face. "Nothing is going to happen, not now. I think your dad and Marcel have come to an agreement, a truce. Nothing to worry about." Hope nodded. "Time for bed now, sweetheart." K leaned forward and kissed Hope's forehead. "Night, baby."

"Night, mama."

K rolled out of bed and waved her goodnight to Hope before cracking the door behind her.

When K returned to her room, she saw Klaus standing near the bar pouring himself a drink. He looked strange, not hurt or afraid, but lost in deep, uncomfortable thought. She'd seen it a hundred times before and it frightened her no less now than it had in the past.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she slowly approached.

He scoffed and let his head fall back, "Where to start?" he asked rhetorically as he stared at the ceiling briefly before returning his attention to his drink. "A shapeless monster seeks to destroy my family, my daughter released the only man in the world who can –and wants- to kill me and my siblings and you," he turned to face her, "You who I can no longer classify."

K's brow furrowed as she narrowed her eyes on him.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Your eyes, Kali." He told her in a clipped tone. "Your eyes turned black and the irises glowed yellow." Her face fell and his sarcasm grew. "They looked a bit like mine and Hayley's, in point of fact. Now, isn't that strange?"

K stared at him for a moment or two before scoffing and shaking her head.

"You don't know what you're talking about." She turned her back on him. K had every intention of heading to bed, but Klaus spoke again.

"This is my doing." He suddenly called after her. K paused. Slowly, she turned once again and saw him staring back at her remorsefully. "I did this to you, didn't I? When I saved you in Beacon Hills, I turned you into whatever it is you are now."

"What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with me."

Klaus sighed and dropped his head. "I am a monster." His words were almost too quiet for her to hear at first and as a result, she stepped closer. "Marcel was right."

"Hey," she drew his eye, "What's going on?"

"Marcel," he said despite himself. "He told me he knew what I was the instant we met and I fear Hope may be aware of the same."

"Nik, she knows what we are." She squared herself on him so he would be forced to meet her eye. "She knows I'm a vampire, that you and Hayley are hybrids, and that she's a witch. She knows that we have to drink blood to survive and yes, she knows that we have done some awful things in the past." His face fell and his eyes left her. K grabbed his jaw and forced him to again look at her. "But you know what else? She knows there's a difference between us and them. She knows that we would _never_ hurt her and she _knows_ that we love her more than anything in this world." He stared back at her sadly. "She does not, and will not, see you like that, ever. And I will do everything I can to help you stay like that in her eyes because that's what we do. That's what Hayley and I have done since the beginning, and that's what we will continue to do now. One of us will be the devil we have to be while the other stays at her side and keeps her from it. Okay?"

Klaus found himself nodding his agreement and felt better after her explanation. K leaned forward and kissed him softly before hugging him tightly to her chest.

If there was one thing in the world that could make Klaus question everything, it was Hope. When someone forced him to realize that she would one day see the truth, it shattered him on the inside and K knew that's what happened. It was simply another manifestation of his extreme abandonment issues.

When they parted again, K smiled softly as she pressed her forehead to his.

"I'm uh… I'm a bit hungry."

Klaus felt a smile touch his lips and a deep chuckle rumble in his throat.

"I'm sure we can rectify that issue quickly."

K gave him another kiss before stepping away from him and towards the bed. It was then Klaus noticed something he was surprised he hadn't before. Her shirt was clean. K was wearing the same shirt she had during the fight, and yet there was no mark left behind from the stake that had been shoved into his back. K was injury free and for some reason, it made him uneasy instead of happy. Shouldn't she have felt it, too? Come to think of it, he hadn't felt her being subdued by Dominic's magic, either.

The thought quickly fled his mind, however, the moment her shirt was slipped over her head and tossed elsewhere in the room. He had more important things to think about now.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN:** Short compared to recent chapters, but this episode was a bit slow, as a result, the chapter is too. I've decided to stop it where I did so I can use the rest of the episode for the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy and sorry for the delay. Computer troubles, another reason why I want to have something of a chapter in the bank. Again, enjoy and let me know what you think!

 **Chapter 17**

 _Season 4, Ep. 8_

Voodoo in my Blood

K was in the kitchen making Hope something to eat when she felt the tickle of something at the base of her neck. It caused her to roll her shoulders in a weak attempt to alleviate the sensation, but it was persistent. It wouldn't be ignored.

With her brows creased curiously, K went in search of the source and felt her stomach drop at the thing she found. Hope was casually walking around the small round table in the center of the room. The jawbone held a fair amount of her attention since its discovery –which perhaps wasn't surprising- but the intense look on Hope's face made K scowl. Before she could speak and tell the child to leave it be, Hope stepped to the side… and the bone followed.

Hope slowly paced the table and with each step, the bone jerked towards her. It kept itself facing Hope for as long as it could, all the while she continued to walk. K's mouth fell slack and her heart sank the longer the bone followed Hope like a cat chasing a string. It was a disturbing sight.

"Hope," Hayley snapped as she approached. Whether it was intuition or the look of horror stretching across K's face, Hayley quickly realized something wasn't right. "What's going on?" she asked as she quickly raced to her daughter's side.

"Do you hear them too?" Hope asked in a lofty voice.

"What's going on?" Klaus asked as he appeared as well. His eyes drifted to K. "Kali?"

She jolted back into reality and attempted to tell him what she saw, but the words didn't seem willing to come at first.

"What did they say?" Hayley asked Hope.

"They said… they said we're connected to this, you and me." Hope explained.

Klaus began to stew. "If this fossil has been spewing lies, I'll gladly toss it into the river."

"No," Hope said quickly, "Not the bone, the witches. The Ancestors. They have a message for us, a warning."

"Tell me what they said." Hayley whispered almost desperately.

"They want you to go to Saint Anne's church." Hope said. "They said you have to listen to what they say, and you have to do it now, before The Hollow comes for us."

The space fell silent for what felt like an eternity before K stepped forward. She offered Hope her hand.

"Come on, sweetie." She finally said. "Lunch."

Hope nodded, glanced one final time to Hayley before taking K's hand and following her through the manor. While no one said anything, the tension left behind after Hope's declaration was undeniable.

As Hope picked lazily at her food, K sat nearby forcing herself to hear the conversations around the house. She did her best to hear what Hayley and Klaus planned to do about the Ancestors' demand to speak with her.

"Mama,"

Hope's voice brought K out of her thoughts. She jostled slightly and turned her attention to her daughter sitting beside her at the head of the table.

"Yeah, sweetie?" she asked with a smile.

Hope didn't look up as she pushed her chips lazily along the plate. The odd behavior caused K to furrow her brows.

"I didn't mean to scare everyone."

K's brows pulled together tighter.

"What do you mean, baby?"

It was Hope's turn for her face to twist into sadness. Hesitantly, she looked up and K could see just how sad she really was. It made K want to grab her and hug her tightly.

"I don't mean to hear them," she said in a small voice, "I just… do."

"Oh, sweetie," K sighed softly. She reached for Hope's chair and pulled her around the corner separating them. She wrapped her arms around Hope and hugged her tightly. "I know, baby. I know." She gently stroked Hope's hair. "And you don't scare us, okay? None of us are scared of you."

Hope clung to K and struggled to keep from crying. K felt horrible. Of course Hope would think their fear was her fault. Of course she would think that everyone was scared of her because of what she could do. Children have an amazing ability to take everything into themselves, to make every bad situation somehow their doing, even when the truth was nowhere near that.

"Then why was everyone so worried?" she mumbled into K's shirt.

K took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Yet again, she was going to have to try and explain everything to Hope and it broke her heart. She missed the time when the child was blissfully ignorant.

"Because what you said is scary." She said honestly. K pulled back so she could look at Hope. She tenderly stroked her hair and held her cheek. "We aren't afraid of you, sweetie. We're scared of them."

Hope seemed mildly confused.

"But I'm a witch, too."

"I know."

K pushed Hope back to her place and slid out of her chair. She knelt by Hope so she wouldn't look as though she was staring down at the little girl and was instead at her level.

"The Ancestors don't like us." She said honestly, "And when they want to talk to us, it makes us nervous."

"Should I not have said anything?"

"No," K cooed softly with a smile. "If you hear voices, you should always tell us, because we can't hear them. You're a witch, sweetheart, you're in tune with things we vampires aren't. But magic… magic scares us."

"Why?"

"Because it is incredible and unstoppable and sometimes it feels like there are no rules." She said honestly. "Vampires and wolves, we use our hands." She held them up to show Hope. "When we fight, we do it with our bodies, but witches like you, you can use your minds, your hearts." She gently touched Hope's chest. "We can't do that, and it leaves us with nothing to fight. It's scary, sweetie. It… it makes us feel like a butterfly in a tornado because no matter how strong we are, witches can be stronger. Do you understand?"

"I think so." She nodded softly. "Do… do you think mom's in danger?"

K gently shook her head, "No, I don't think so. I think The Ancestors are just as afraid of The Hollow as we are, and they really do want to help."

Hope began to nod again and a slow smile touched her lips.

"Okay."

K smiled as well, "Okay," she nodded. "Finish your lunch, sweetheart."

Hope nodded once more and returned to her food, this time actually taking a bite of her sandwich.

As K slipped back into her seat, there was a gentle knock from behind. K turned and Hope looked up to see Klaus standing in the doorway to the dining room with a smile on his face. He looked at Hope.

"May I borrow your mother for a moment, sweetheart?" he asked politely. Hope nodded and K stood to meet him. "Thank you."

Hope's smile grew when he bowed to her. She went back to her food while Klaus and K stepped around the corner to be out of sight. The moment they were, Klaus' smile fell.

"Hayley and I are going to Saint Anne's." he told her.

"I know," K replied. "I've been listening."

He nodded. He wasn't entirely surprised.

"Stay here with Hope."

She scowled, but like with the eaves dropping, Klaus expected it. He wasn't surprised in the least that she would be annoyed with his decision.

"Elijah and Marcel are meeting Alaric for another piece of bone, Hayley and I will be dealing with the witches, I have _no_ idea where Freya has gone off to, so please. I want someone here to watch over Hope."

K wanted to protest –unwilling to let Klaus go near the witches without her there- but he wasn't wrong. Everyone was stretched relatively thin and someone needed to watch over the youngest Mikaelson.

"Fine," she growled through her teeth. "Just… be careful, please? I know how you get."

He feigned offense, which caused K to roll her eyes. With a smile, he leaned forward and gave her a kiss before saying farewell to his daughter. K was incredibly uncomfortable letting any of the Mikaelsons disperse, but it wasn't for frivolous reasons. They needed to find a way to defeat The Hollow.

Hours passed and K hadn't heard word from anyone. She'd taken to pacing whether she meant to or not. Phone calls would be an obvious thing to consider, but they went unanswered. She doubted it was to keep her safe, so her mind simply fell to the default, that something had happened. But she didn't know what to do.

"Mama," Hope called from her bedroom.

"Yeah, sweetie?" K asked as she turned towards the sound of her daughter's voice.

When she came into sight, Hope looked over her mother and noticed how nervous she was. Hope wasn't concerned because she had faith that everything would be alright, so she wanted her mother to feel better.

"Tell me a story?" she asked.

K's brows slowly rose and tugged together as a smile touched her lips. She could tell what the child was doing and was grateful for it. Hope was so sweet.

Hope scooted to the side and patted the bed, silently telling K to sit beside her. Still smiling, and shaking her head to herself, K did as she was told.

Once situated, Hope leaned against K's side and got comfortable.

"Okay," K smiled, "What do you want to hear?"

"How did you meet the Mikaelsons?"

The question came quicker than K expected which made her wonder how long Hope had been wanting to ask.

"Well, it was a really long time ago." She explained. "Things were different back then, so I want you to remember that, okay?" Hope nodded. "Okay… well, I was raised in a little village near the ocean in a country called Thrace. At the time, the Romans, the Byzatines and a few other tribes were always fighting and Thrace was in the middle, so it became a battleground. Eventually, the war spilled over to my village and when it did, I ran away."

"You ran away from your mom and dad?" Hope seemed surprised.

"I never knew my parents." She said simply. "My mother died during childbirth and no one knew who my father was. I was raised by the people who found me and… they weren't very nice," she decided to skip over the majority of the truth, "So like I said, I ran away.

"I got caught not long after and the people who caught me took me to the capital and sold me to a slave trader."

Hope's face twisted sadly, but K kept her smile.

"It's okay, sweetie." She comforted. "They brought me up on stage and before they could sell me, I ran. I ran so fast, but before I could get away, boom!" she clapped her hands causing Hope to jump. "I ran face first into your dad." Hope giggled slightly. "I fell right on my butt. Well, he thought it was funny, so right then and there, he and your Uncle Elijah bought me."

Hope scowled slightly, which K honestly expected.

"They bought you? What does that mean?"

"Remember, this was a looooong time ago, and back then, people bought their employees. It's not like it is now where you hire people." She explained. Hope slowly nodded, though it was clear she still wasn't entirely certain how to comprehend the information. "He took me home and I worked for him and the others. I spent the next eight years with them."

"Why'd you leave?"

"I didn't want to." She said honestly. "By then, I loved your dad very much, but some bad things happened and I didn't have a choice."

"What happened?"

K chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment as she thought about whether or not she should tell her. While she'd never tell Hope what Elijah had done to her –at least not until she was old enough to understand, like, in her thirties- K was worried about the rest of it.

"I was turned," she said. "And when I woke up, all of my memories were taken away. I didn't know who they were anymore. I didn't meet your dad again until about nine, ten years ago."

"When did you meet mom?"

"Well, I met her briefly in Mystic Falls a few years back, but I didn't get to know her very well until she was pregnant with you."

Hope opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. Her face twisted with confusion which K thought was a bit strange. She thought she'd been relatively clear, but there was obviously something Hope didn't understand.

The truth was, she understood everything, but something had only just donned on her.

"I thought you were both my mom."

K's heart twisted. That's what confused Hope so much, that K said she hadn't met Hayley until _after_ she was already pregnant. It was something they never discussed with Hope because there was no need. But K had inadvertently said something that brought it forward.

"Of course I am," She said finally. "While you share your mom and dad's blood, family isn't just about blood. I've been there since the day you were born. I have taken care of you, I love you, and you are my daughter. You hear me?" Hope shifted just enough to look up at K who held her cheek tenderly. "You _are_ my daughter."

Hope smiled softly and nodded.

"Okay," K smiled in response. "Hungry?" Hope nodded. "I'll make you something to eat."

She leaned forward and kissed Hope's forehead before slipping out of bed. Hope watched as she disappeared for a moment before reaching for a book. While she opened it, Hope didn't really read the words in front of her. She was too busy thinking about what K said.

Downstairs, K was in the middle of looking for something for Hope to eat when she heard something that stopped her heart.

" _Mama!"_ Hope's shrill voice and the fear it held made every nerve in K's body explode. Never in her life had Hope sounded so afraid or screamed for K like that. "Mama!" she screamed again just before racing into the kitchen.

"What? What's wrong?" K quickly fell to her knees and took hold of Hope's arms. "What's happened?"

"It's dad," she breathed heavily after having raced through the house. "Something's wrong. The Ancestors want to hurt him."

K kept the fear from her face, but felt it nonetheless.

"Okay," she nodded. "Come here." K wrapped her arms around Hope and stood. Hope clung to K as firmly as she could, while K did the same. "Hold on tight, okay?"

She felt Hope nod as she buried her face into K's shoulder. Ensuring she had a tight grasp, and with a hand at the back of Hope's neck, K fled the manor. She raced through the streets, passed people and through trees towards the church in the distance.

When it finally came into sight, she began to slow. Once on the front steps, she set Hope down, took her hand and didn't hesitate to shove open the front doors.

"No!" Hope yelled. Attention shot to the little girl and the woman at her side. "You promised to help, but you're not. You're hurting us, and I won't let you."

Before the others could speak, Hope thrust her fist towards them and sent a massive wave of magic towards the spell keeping Klaus pinned beneath Davina. Hayley and Elijah struggled to keep on their feet as wind tore through the spell, breaking the circle surrounding the hybrid. Pews shifted, the earth rattled and within seconds, the spell was broken completely with less effort than Hope put into one of her drawings.

The air went still. Hayley could wipe the fear from her face as she stared at her little girl. There was no denying the power Hope had just displayed and it terrified her.

Klaus began to stir and without hesitation Hope ran for her father. She immediately hugged him when she was close enough and refused to let go.

K slowly stepped closer. Hayley's eyes found focus on her.

"Why did you bring her here?" she hissed through her teeth. "That was dangerous."

"Because she was terrified." K shot back under her breath. "She heard what Davina was doing to him. Do you really think she would let that go? If I didn't bring her here, she would have found her own way."

Hayley glowered, but she couldn't deny that K was probably right.

"Come along," Klaus' voice drew their gazes. He stood and took Hope's hand. "Let's get out of this abominable place."

There were silent agreements as everyone began to disperse. No one was willing to speak on what happened, at least not yet. Honestly, they weren't entirely true what _did_ happen.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN:  
** I hope you guys enjoy and let me know what you think!

 **Chapter 18**

Things had settled as best they could after St. Anne's. Hope was digging through Freya's things in search of something to better conceal and handle the jawbone that sat front and center in the middle of the room. Elijah had gone to speak with someone –K wasn't particularly listening when he took his leave. Marcel was gone, Klaus was near one of the many downstairs bars and Alaric was in the house. He was a curious addition as far as K was concerned. Her last memories of the man weren't pleasant and because of that, she took to lingering in the shadows and watching so long as he was beneath her roof. Considering he was indestructible during their last meeting, the cuts and bruises on his face were a welcomed sight, but still, she gave him no trust.

"As one father to another," he told Klaus, "You're not going to be able to keep Hope locked up much longer. And I'm guessing you know Caroline and I built a school. It's a place for kids with supernatural leanings, just like Hope."

Klaus remained silent, but the smile on his face took on a forced undertone K noticed from her spot in the distance.

"Our girls are thriving there," Alaric continued. "They're learning to use their powers for good and to embrace their identities without fear. Hope would always be welcomed there."

While K thought the invitation was at least sweet, Klaus sighed and rolled his eyes. Although, perhaps his reaction wasn't completely surprising.

Stepping away from the bar with his hands behind his back, he closed most of the distance between Alaric and himself. He smiled devilishly.

"Give my regards to Mystic Falls." He replied.

Alaric took a breath and sighed as well. He knew it was the end of the conversation and while Klaus was being a bit of a dick, again, it wasn't surprising. With a nod, he turned to leave just as K stepped out from hiding. His pace slowed before stopping entirely as he looked at the young woman staring blankly –coldly- at him.

Alaric tilted his head a bit to the side as he searched his memory. He recognized her, but her name took a moment to come to him.

"K, right?" he asked.

His confusion and hesitation didn't surprise her. The two hardly spoke to one another when they were in Mystic Falls at the same time.

"Yes," she told him simply.

Alaric wondered for a moment at her icy demeanor until he remembered the last time they saw one another. He had plunged a stake through Klaus' heart and punched her in the face? No, he kicked her in the gut… Either way, he knew he attacked her rather violently. And yet, somehow, he sensed it wasn't his outburst that brought on her cold behavior. With the knowledge that Stefan passed on after his visit to New Orleans and the sight of a rather pronounced ring on her finger, Alaric was well aware her animosity stemmed from him nearly killing her 'husband' years prior.

The thought that Klaus was married still made most everyone in Mystic Falls who heard the news a bit uncomfortable.

"Thank you," K finally said after a few moments of tense silence. His brows twitched together briefly. He didn't understand. "For bringing the information to us." She clarified, "And for your invitation to Hope."

"Oh," he mumbled to himself as he nodded. "Of course."

With another nod, he attempted to leave, but noticed Hope coming into the courtyard wearing her nightclothes. She went straight for Klaus, hugged him, said goodnight and approached K.

"Are you leaving?" she asked him kindly.

Alaric couldn't help the smile, "Yeah." He told her. "I have my own family to get back to."

"Then goodbye." She said. Alaric gave her another gracious nod and Hope's attention shifted to K. "Mama, it's bed time."

"Of course," she smiled. K offered Hope her hand, which she took, before turning her eye to Alaric. "Hopefully your trip home will be safer than the one here."

He let out a soft and tired breath while a smile of the same tugged at his lips. With nothing else to say, K and Hope made their way upstairs and to the little one's bedroom.

 _Season 4, Episode 9_

Queen Death  


The following morning, Klaus sat with Hope in his lap as he showed her the plethora of goodies he had acquired for her. The excess was ridiculous in every way, but he couldn't help it. He wanted to spoil his little girl, but the happiness he felt at the moment was sadly temporary.

It never seemed long before the real world, or at least the Mikaelson version of it, came storming through the door.

"Kali," Hayley chimed when she saw the vampire step into the main room.

K looked up and immediately noticed the sugary treats first. She set a stern eye on Klaus.

"Really?" she asked in a deadpan voice.

He did little more than raise a single brow and shrug as though attempting to feign innocence, but not truly trying.

"Hey," Hayley said again as she moved closer to the vampire, "Have you seen Elijah?"

"No," she shook her head. "Not since last night. Why?"

Hayley glanced to Klaus and something unspoken passed between the two. It made K tense.

"What's wrong?" she asked under her breath given Hope's proximity.

"He didn't come home last night." Hayley replied in the same tone. "After he went to Marcel's…"

K shot Klaus a look which he noticed immediately. It wasn't as though she was certain the other vampire had done anything to Elijah, but clearly _something_ had happened.

"I'll go have a word with him." Klaus said easily.

K and Hayley both nodded, and soon, the hybrid was on his way. After a kiss to Hope, he disappeared quickly.

"I'll call Freya." Hayley said.

K nodded once more and the second hybrid soon left. When she had, K approached the table and stared disapprovingly at the contents.

"Dad got me all this for breakfast." Hope said happily.

"I know," K chimed in that sweet tone most inadvertently used when speaking to a child. "He likes to spoil people and now he has you." She smiled. Hope simply beamed and bit again into another fluffy pastry. "Hey baby," K knelt by Hope's chair. "How about we get you a nice big plate, you pick out the treats you want, and then take them up to your room to eat, hm?"

"Sure," Hope nodded, "But… why?"

"Well, because I think Aunt Freya is going to have to do some magic and it might be best for you to be upstairs for it."

"Can I help?" she asked eagerly.

K smiled as she reached up and tenderly wiped away the bit of powdered sugar on Hope's cheek.

"Not this time, sweetie. Okay?"

Hope seemed a little disappointed, but nodded her reluctant agreement. K excused herself to fetch a plate and returned a moment later. Hope happily piled up all kinds of treats before retiring to her room.

There were many times through the years K was grateful Hope didn't share her parents' stubbornness.

As Freya performed the spell to find Elijah and K and Hayley looked on, they heard something grinding behind them. Freya's strange expression caused both other young women to turn and see why. A pit grew in K's stomach as the jawbone spun gently on an axis. It was as though it had a mind of its own.

Cautiously, the trio stepped closer to the strange artifact. They wanted a closer look, but none of them were so stupid that they risked getting too close.

As they watched it –to their combined surprise- Vincent appeared. He saw the shifting bone and the expression that took his face could only be described as expecting. It was as though he knew something along those lines would be greeting him the moment he stepped onto Mikaelson territory.

"That's her," he said as he approached, "That's The Hollow. She has Elijah, and now she wants that bone."

"In exchange for Elijah?" Hayley asked in a soft voice.

"No, you don't understand. There won't be an exchange." Vincent suddenly snapped. "She needs Elijah to die in order to channel the energy from his sacrifice. She's already poisoned him with the rose thorns. She wants this bone by sundown, and if she doesn't get it, she's going to come here and take it. And when she does, she's going to burn this entire city to the ground."

"Hey," K said as kindly as she could. His intense stare shifted to her. "Calm down, okay?"

"Ca… calm down? Are you kidding me?" he shot at her just as angrily.

Her stare hardened.

"She asked you an innocent question and you bit her head off." She replied tersely. "So yeah, calm the hell down."

Vincent tensed his jaw and relaxed it multiple times as he attempted to do as K demanded, but it was clearly difficult. He was on edge after his 'meeting' with the spirit and was understandably pissed off.

"I'll call Klaus." K said. "Just…" she looked at Vincent, "Just take a second, okay?"

He said nothing as he turned his back to the three and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. K glanced to Freya and Hayley. They both shared her annoyance, but there was little they could actually do about it.

As she said she would, K reached into her pocket and called Klaus, telling him that Vincent was at the manor, told them The Hollow had Elijah and that he should get home soon.

Within minutes, the hybrid and Marcel both appeared behind the agitated witch. Klaus openly glowered at Vincent as he stepped passed him and into the room, but Vincent truly didn't care about an angry hybrid. He had to prioritize his worry and as a result, Klaus didn't break the top five.

Silently, the others took their seats while Vincent remained standing. They knew without being told that there was more to the story and the witch would need to elaborate. Sure enough, he spoke shortly after they'd all gathered.

"It comes down to this," he finally said in a much calmer, more subdued voice than before. "Use the element of surprise. Now, Marcel will hand over the bone, and stab The Hollow with the knife dipped in Hayley's blood. And then I'm going to cast the spell that buries her."

No one spoke for a moment. The plan seemed too simple, but Hayley soon brought up a valid and heartbreaking point.

"The Ancestor's spell requires a sacrifice." She said solemnly. "An Original has to die."

"Yeah," Vincent nodded, "And right now, The Hollow's going to use Elijah's death to come back, but that opens up a window where I can use his sacrifice to shove her back in her grave."

K looked to the man at her side. Klaus was growing increasingly agitated and was shifting in his seat as a result. She could practically feel his ire rise. Suddenly, he rose to his feet.

"You'll forgive me for stating the obvious," he said in a calm, even, and icy voice. "But your plan does nothing to save my brother. In fact, it relies entirely upon his death."

"Easy," Marcel said from behind, "He's just trying to help."

"Klaus," Vincent sighed as he held his hands together in front of his body. It seemed to be a nervous twitch he had –or something along those lines- when confronted with an uncomfortable situation. Then again, when a witch was under attack, they used their hands, so it could just as easily been his way of 'staying ready'. "Elijah's already dead. Now, the only thing we can do is figure out if that death's going to count for something."

"That's not a call any of us get to make." Hayley snapped quickly. "Especially not you. There has to be a way to save him."

"Freya," Klaus chimed, "You still have the antidote we used to cure Marcel's bite."

"I have it, yes, but I don't know if it'll work against the poison of the rose bush." She admitted.

"You guys aren't listening, okay?" Vincent said loudly. He was on the verge of yelling. "Even if we do cure Elijah, we still have a big problem. That's called The Hollow, and it's going to just keep coming after us until it resurrects and when that happens, we're talking about an ancient, primal power that's made flesh and blood and it will wipe out this entire city in an afternoon and there ain't a damn thing you or anyone else can do about it. Now, my way, we take her out while she's still a spirit. Elijah dies, but at least his death counts for something."

"No," Klaus said, "I'm not willing to discuss this any further."

"What about your little girl?" Vincent asked, almost before Klaus could finish speaking. "This thing wiped out her entire bloodline, and it already got to Hope once, right? This is a chance, Klaus, probably the one chance you'll get, and you want to blow that opportunity to _maybe_ save your brother?" he was getting louder. "Or do you want to do your job and save your little girl?"

"Hey!" K snapped and shot to her feet in an instant when Klaus hardened himself against Vincent. She appeared between the two with her eye solely on the witch. "Enough," she told him sternly. "You do _not_ get to stand there and tell us to choose between one family member or another, you hear me?"

She pointed a stern finger at him, but Vincent wasn't dissuaded. He knew he was right and wasn't afraid in the least.

"There's always a loophole." Freya said from her seat. With a sigh, she shoved herself up and looked at Vincent. "I have my mother's grimoires. You're welcomed to study them with me."

After a few tense moments, Vincent reluctantly complied and left with Freya, but he already knew what had to be done. The Mikaelsons unwillingness to see it only added to his frustration.

"Let's," K muttered when the pair had been gone for a moment or two, "Let's all take a breath, okay?"

There were nods amongst the group. There was a lot to process, and perhaps a moment or two of walking around –even if it was pacing- would help.

"You," K reached for Klaus' hand and took it in her own, "Come with me."

He put up no resistance as she guided him away from the area.

K continued to pull him along until they were upstairs in his room, at which point she released his hand and closed the door behind her. When she had, she returned to his side and hugged him tightly. Klaus hesitated to return the sentiment, but eventually felt himself comply. Soon, he hugged her tightly as though she was once again his anchor.

As she held him, K gripped his shirt tightly, curling the fabric in her fists as she clung to him. She did her best to steady her breath because she knew he was worse. And he was. Klaus felt like he was spinning, like no matter where he looked, there simply wasn't anything solid to focus on. He felt lost and angry, scared and confused. All of it swirled within him to the point of nausea.

"We have to save my brother." He mumbled into her shoulder.

"I know." K replied in the same soft tone. "We'll find something, okay? There's always something…"

She wanted to sound like she believed her words, but in truth, she didn't. K had no idea what would happen and as a result, didn't know how to offer anything but lies in a weak attempt to give solace.

The pair stayed like that, together and shut off from the world, for what felt like an eternity. K needed to keep Klaus calm. She knew him too well and knew violence was his next option if he couldn't stay calm.

An hour or so had passed before Freya asked both K and Klaus to join her. They did and met the witch and Hayley in another room to be presented with a plan.

"What do you mean _try_?" Hayley asked as she stared at the blue gem.

"Elijah's been poisoned for some time…" she admitted, "There's a chance he won't survive the process."

Klaus had stepped away to pace again while Hayley, Freya and K stood around the small table.

"What's the likelihood he won't make it?" K asked under her breath. The words actually hurt to say.

"I don't know." Freya replied in a similar tone. "I… it's not like anything like this has been done before. I… I just don't know."

"But I would survive."

Klaus spoke with a level of determination that surprised the trio. Their collective gaze danced towards the hybrid standing a few yards away. K's eyes were wide. She couldn't help it. Klaus barely managed to look at her before deciding instead to stare at his sister.

"Klaus," Freya attempted to say.

"If I am the sacrifice, you can channel my death to entrap The Hollow before she kills Elijah." He told her strongly as he approached. "Yes, I'll be in the pendant, but the rest of you can find him, cure him and bring him home."

"This is insane." Hayley told him honestly.

He looked at her through his brows. He was serious, resolute even, and it bothered them all greatly.

"No," K breathed. Her soft word caused him to reluctantly look at her. Her expression was still fairly blank, her eyes still wide, but they were glinting with welling tears now and while she tried to keep her jaw tight, it trembled just a bit. He felt a pit grow in his stomach.

"That evil wench cannot be killed." He tried to keep his voice tough. "Left unchecked, she _will_ come for Hope. Sacrifice me."

"No," she said again.

"We can save Elijah and defeat this thing. It's the only way."

"I said no!" K suddenly bellowed. She took in one shaky breath after another as she stared angrily at him through reddening eyes. Her brows pulled together sadly. "You only just came back." Her words hitched.

"We don't have time to debate this." He told her. Klaus tried to keep his voice strong and as a result, it came off a bit colder than he meant it to.

K stared at him, chewing on her bottom lip as she struggled to keep from screaming or crying. She was too close to either. Eventually, after blinking free a few tears, she shook her head and simply left. She couldn't stand to be near him, not now.

Klaus' eyes drifted back to Freya. "Work your magic, sister." He said kindly. "It's gonna be okay."

She looked as though she wanted to cry too, but she knew she didn't have the luxury. Instead, she felt herself nod. A moment later, Klaus left the room.

As she stood in her bedroom struggling to keep from lashing out like she truly wanted to, K felt the air behind her shift. She knew without having to turn that it was because Klaus had finally come to see her and it did nothing more than make her angrier than before.

Every muscle in her body tensed, she clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms and her eyes immediately filled with tears once again.

Klaus noticed the change wash over her and was well aware that she was on the cusp of fighting him. As well as she knew him, Klaus could claim the same of her. As a result, he took slow, cautious steps towards her.

"How can you do this to me?" her voice trembled like before, but was now laced with not only sadness, but anger as well. "You promised you wouldn't do this again. You _promised_ me."

"Sweetheart," was all he managed to say before the inevitable happened.

K spun around when she felt him close enough and smashed her fist into the side of his face. Klaus reeled from the hit, stumbled, but managed to catch himself before he would have fallen completely. He could feel his jaw repair itself after K shattered the bone.

"How dare you?!" she yelled as she swung again.

This time, Klaus caught her by the wrist and pulled her close, spinning her around until her back hit his chest. He quickly wrapped his arms around her to keep her as still as he could. Holding her so tightly he could break a human easily, Klaus felt K shaking.

"Let go of me!" she demanded hatefully, but he could hear it. He could hear her tears without having to see them.

"No," he told her as she fought against him. "Not until you calm down."

"I'm not going to _calm down,_ " she wrenched herself almost violently from his grip and once she was free, she was sure to put distance between them. She stared hatefully at him. "How can you do this?" she asked again, but valiantly keeping herself from yelling. "How can you just hand yourself over to be killed?"

"I don't have a choice!" he shot back. Klaus was losing what little reserve he had and her constant accusations only helped to shatter what was left. "It's either myself, or Elijah, and I'll not let my brother die. You can't ask me to and I won't."

She stared at him in disbelief.

"You don't get it, do you? This is d _eath_ Nik. What if the Ancestors don't come through like they should? Hm? What if they keep you?" she dared. "What if something goes wrong? Have you thought about that? This could be permanent!"

"I know you might be concerned about what –if anything- may happen to you during the spell, but-"

"It's not just about me, Nik." She said angrily. K sighed. Her shoulders dropped as she struggled to calm herself just a bit. After a moment, she met his eye again. "I don't want to lose you again, I don't. And I don't know what I'd do if Freya can't bring you back, but…" her breath hitched again. K bit down on her bottom lip and slammed her eyes shut. She buried her face in her hands. Klaus wanted so desperately to hug her once more, but honestly, he was a bit scared she'd hit him again. "I don't want to have to tell Hope you died." She cried into her hands.

The tears Klaus didn't realize had gathered slowly slid down his cheeks when he blinked. His face twisted into sadness and his heart felt like it was torn from his chest.

"You can't…" she continued to cry and speak into her palms, forcing her words to be muffled, "You can't make me look into her eyes and tell her you're… you're not coming back."

Arms encircled her a moment later. On instinct, K wrapped her arms around him and hugged Klaus in return. Like before, they clung tightly to one another because they had no choice. Both were breaking.

"You have to come back." She whimpered.

"I will," he replied in a similar voice.

While K knew that logically this was their best chance to save Elijah, the practice was what frightened her. The theory was all well and good, but since when did plans they laid out ever go as they were meant to? It was the unknowns that terrified her.

K wanted Elijah back as much as the others did. She didn't want him to die and her heart broke for the fear Hayley felt, but she wanted to be greedy. K felt she was allowed to be selfish for the moment, to be unwilling to sacrifice Klaus again.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN:** Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 19**

K couldn't be a part of what was about to take place. She wanted to be –somewhere deep inside- but she simply couldn't do it. With Klaus about to kill himself and be locked away in a pendant, K wouldn't be able to give the proper amount of concentration needed for anything else. She'd be next to useless in a fight against the Hollow, and she knew it. All she could do was stay home with Hope.

As she paced through the main courtyard on the first floor, the doors suddenly burst open. It had been hours since she heard from anyone and slipped deeply into her thoughts, so the sudden loud bang caused her to jump. The joy of seeing everyone, including Klaus, was short-lived when she saw the dark-haired man in his arms.

"Oh god," she breathed as they ran by her. Klaus barely managed a sideways glance at her, but it didn't matter. She didn't notice. K couldn't take her eyes from the eldest brother, lifeless and saturated with grey veins.

The plan had clearly failed.

 **~!~**

A glimmer of hope came from the child who bore the same name. She was an incredible little girl and seemed to give Freya the small spark she needed to see into the depths of the broken pendent. The true problem, however, was that Elijah wasn't himself. According to Freya, he was broken in the most dangerous sense of the word.

"Just come on," K said softly as she pulled Klaus along with her.

He was reluctant, but after a verbal thrashing from Hayley, another on its way from K, he had no choice but to do as she wanted.

K guided him through the familiar halls and towards their room. When they were within the suite, Klaus found himself taking a seat while K poured them a drink each. The air was thick and tense with fear. It was visceral with loss and neither of them was entirely certain what to do.

Time. They needed time for Freya to do what she could, but it was time they didn't want to give. It left them with nothing but their thoughts, which was even worse.

K reached his side and knelt beside the chair.

"Here," she whispered softly. His eyes slowly drifted to her. "Drink."

He took the offered beverage, but didn't seem to have the strength to bring it to his lips. He felt heavy, as though every limb was weighed down with lead.

"You have to let Freya work," her voice remained sweet as she reached up and touched his cheek. Klaus moved into the action. "She wants Elijah back too, but she can't work with you yelling at her."

Klaus' brows pulled together while he stared sadly back at her.

"He is my brother," his voice was low and gravely. "He is my oldest and… only friend."

"Oldest perhaps, but not only." Her lips twitched into a small smile and her eyes began to well with coming tears. She felt so guilty for what she was about to say, but the words came regardless, "I'm so glad you're alright."

He scowled and looked away, almost offended by her words. She expected as much, but she couldn't help it. K was simply happy he hadn't died. Again, she felt she was allowed to be selfish.

K pushed herself up on her knees so she was more level with Klaus and pressed her lips to his cheek. He didn't move. He didn't even acknowledge she'd done anything, which only gave her a better idea of how angry he really was.

"Don't be mad at me," she whispered as she gently nuzzled against his face, "Please."

Klaus' eyes drifted shut and a sigh of a breath left his lips. He wasn't angry with her. He was angry with himself. He'd never admit it out loud, but Klaus was happy to be home, too. He was glad he hadn't died in the cemetery, glad he wasn't locked away within the pendent, and that made him feel disgusting. He felt like he was betraying Elijah because of it. At the time, Klaus fully meant what he said. He wanted to die for his brother, to sacrifice himself again to save one of the siblings who always did the same for him, but after the cabin… he was happy he hadn't.

He slowly shifted towards her, gently gliding his forehead along hers until they were pressed together.

"I'm not," he said softly. His breath graced her skin a moment before he pressed his lips to hers. "I'm not angry with you."

When he kissed her again, it was more in depth than the first. Her lips molded easily against his as she returned the sentiment.

Klaus felt himself slide out of his seat until he was kneeling on the floor with K. He wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss further. He was happy to be home with his family, with his wife.

As he moved forward, K fell gently to her back. He hovered over her as the passion between them grew once again. When she threaded her fingers through his hair and tugged lightly, Klaus felt it vibrate through him.

Pulling back, Klaus sat on his knees. He grabbed K's legs and tugged her shoes from her feet, tossing them out into his room without a care as to where they landed. K couldn't fight the light giggle that left her lips at the goofiness of it. He looked up at her through his lashes and smirked before taking hold of her waistband and stripping her of her jeans.

After they were peeled away and gone, Klaus closed the distance between them and kissed K again. Their shirts followed suit shortly after and she reveled in the feeling of his heated body against hers. A moment later, K cried out at his intrusion.

K's fingernails dug into his shoulders as Klaus began to move. She was again engrossed in the feelings only Klaus could bring out in her. He was the only man whoever made her feel anything, be it fear, love, joy or hatred. No one else seemed worth the time it would take.

His speed increased as did the power, but K was unwilling to keep them stationary. Gripping his arms, she spun them both until she was on top. The temporary shock on Klaus' face at the sudden action made her smile slyly. He glowered playfully, and aided her when she began to grind against him.

Seconds felt like hours, and vice versa before K felt her body begin to warm. She knew she was reaching her end and either Klaus sensed the same, or he was about to plummet over the edge as well.

He suddenly sat up and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close while they continued to move. Her fingernails pierced his skin, but he didn't care. The sharp pain of it was always a welcomed sensation.

K babbled soft words that spurred his actions further, her pleas for him to continue and her desire to reach the end. He was only too happy to oblige and when he bit into her shoulder, she was given what she wanted. K's body exploded and she cried out as subdued as she could. She felt the euphoria wash through her, saturate every ounce of her being while Klaus fed from her. He tasted the shift, felt her body tremble against his and it was all he needed. Shortly after, Klaus fell into the abyss alongside K.

Minutes passed as they slowly began to calm. They still hugged one another close as they breathed heavily. Eventually, Klaus released K's shoulder. He pulled back from her and looked at her with heavy eyes. She saw the crimson of her blood across his lips and didn't hesitate to kiss him, even going so far as to gently suck the blood from his skin in the process.

When they parted, she offered him a soft smile that Klaus returned. She opened her mouth to speak, but was never given the chance. Without warning, Klaus stood, still cradling her close. The sudden movement caused her to squeak in surprise and cling tightly to him. It made him chuckle.

Klaus intended to enjoy the night as much as he could. He intended to let himself be as happy as he could be that he hadn't died that night before the inevitable guilt at Elijah's situation returned.

Within seconds the pair was on the bed picking up where they left off.

~!~

 **Phantomesque**

 _Season 4, Episode 10_

K was in the kitchen making breakfast for Hope while Klaus spoke with Elijah, and Freya and Hayley prepared for the spell. She was so deep in thought, K didn't realize Hope had been watching her intently for a while.

"Mama,"

The small voice caused K's insides to jump. She felt herself clear her throat and force a smile as she removed the pan of scrambled eggs from the stovetop.

"What, baby?" she asked sweetly.

"What's wrong with Uncle Elijah?"

K took a breath. She finished preparing the plate before bringing it to Hope and sliding slowly into a chair near her.

"He's… missing." She said.

"Inside Aunt Freya's necklace?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

" _Why_ was he inside Aunt Freya's necklace?"

Hope was curious, K could see it, and that's what worried her. While most wouldn't dare tell a child things so adult, K knew she would seek the answers on her own and at least this way, K might be able to soften the blow more than the blunt truth could.

"Well," she sighed softly, "The Hollow tried to sacrifice him, so she could be whole again."

"Did… did it work?"

"Yeah, baby," she nodded softly, "I think it did." Hope's brows came together and K could see her fear and sadness. "She hurt your uncle, and we tried to put him in the pendent to save him, but it broke during the fight. Now, your Aunt Freya is trying to find him inside it."

"Is The Hollow going to try again? Is she going to come after our family?"

K hesitated to answer and Hope noticed. She also noticed something else that K cursed. She hated that the child was so god damned smart.

"You have to tell me the truth." She said sternly. K's eyes slowly drifted back to see her resolute daughter. "You promised."

A soft, nearly invisible smile touched K's lips for just a moment.

"Yes I did." She nodded. "And she might, sweetie. She might try to come after us again because the Mikaelsons are scary. We're a threat to people like her and as your father would say, if she's smart, she'd get rid of us quickly."

"Damn right she would." A new voice chimed. K's gaze shot to the door and there in the threshold she saw a familiar smiling blond. "But that isn't to say we'd make it easy for the ol' girl."

"Rebekah," she sighed in relief. K rose and hugged her friend tightly. She knew what brought the Viking woman back. "I am so sorry."

"I know," Rebekah forced out as she squeezed K one more time before parting. She offered a light, sad smile before turning her eye to Hope. "Hello again, darling girl."

"Hi, Aunt Rebekah."

Rebekah's smile became warm. She looked at K.

"Where's Nik?" she asked.

"With Elijah. I'll take you there."

Rebekah nodded and waited as K returned to Hope's side, told the child she'd be back, kissed her head and returned. When she was close, she noticed a man standing just behind the blond who hadn't been there before.

"Kol," K greeted with a kind nod. He returned the sentiment and they left it at that.

Waving them on, K led the two upstairs through the compound and to the room Klaus had taken to use as Elijah's resting place. He was glad to see his siblings as anyone would be and hugged them both tightly as a result.

"First things first," Klaus chimed, "We need to destroy the weapons that give our enemies their advantage. Now, one scratch from the rose bush is lethal to us. Freya has tracked down the eight that remain, including the main plant here in the ninth ward."

"Fine," Rebekah said. "Then we burn them all and murder that retched bitch."

"Agreed." Klaus nodded before his attention shifted to K. "Protect our daughter."

"I don't think so." She told him simply. "Clearly, you can't take care of yourself, which means you're not leaving without me."

His jaw tensed and it was clear he wished to say something. K almost dared him to, especially when it was clear he had no argument that would suffice. It wasn't as though she had to watch over Hope. Both Hayley and Freya would be home to do so.

After a moment of silent stewing, Klaus eventually nodded curtly. A smile spread across her lips.

"Wonderful," she smiled. "Shall we go, then?"

With a glance to Rebekah –who was smiling as well- the two young women disappeared through the door, shortly followed by both Klaus and Kol.

~!~

The day proceeded as any 'outing' with the Mikaelsons would, which meant it ended in arguing and heartbreak. Surprisingly, the heartbreak didn't come at Klaus' hand this time and instead by the lives both Kol and Rebekah left behind.

Opening one's heart to another left one a special kind of vulnerable, something both siblings now knew.

When they made it home that evening, they were greeted with good news. Elijah's mind had been repaired along with the amulet. He was sane –or as sane as one of their kind could be- and simply waiting for his body to be healed and a sacrifice made. When it was, he could come home again.

There was damage, however. Whatever Hayley saw within the pendent left her shaken. She had trouble focusing on anything around her, too lost in the events that were still so new.

As she sat in the courtyard speaking to Klaus, K approached from the background with a heavy drink she assumed the young hybrid would need. K paused when she heard Klaus speak.

"You know what we are." He told her sincerely. "We're all of us, monsters. We've committed countless atrocities through the years, but Elijah… has only ever done those things for family. He's the best of us. He always has been."

When he stood, Klaus gently touched Hayley's shoulder in passing before disappearing into the distance. After he vanished, K approached the hybrid and offered her a drink along with a light smile.

"Thanks," Hayley sighed gratefully.

"I thought you could use one." K smiled as she slid into the seat Klaus had vacated. "How are you?"

Hayley took a long sip of her scotch and set it aside. Her eyes drifted once again to the pendent in her hands. She all but refused to look at K and instead of answering, gave her a shrug in response.

"That bad, hm?" K was only partially teasing.

Hayley threaded the necklace chain through her fingers, let it slide back and forth as she struggled to see Elijah's face in the blue gem.

"C…" she hesitated, "Can you even remember all of them?" she asked daringly as her eyes finally met K's. "All of the innocent people you've killed?"

K felt a trickle of ice sputter down her spine. She chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment.

"Sometimes," she said softly with a little nod. "Sometimes, yeah, I can still see them, but I know that isn't all of them."

"What do you mean?"

"For every face I remember, I know there's a hundred I never will." She said honestly. "It scared you, didn't it?" Hayley didn't speak, but K noticed her push herself back just a bit, further into the cushion as though it would swallow her up and she wouldn't have to answer K, but in the action, the vampire knew. She felt bad for Hayley, that her image of Elijah was now so broken. "We all have a Red Door," she said, "Every one of us. We have that place buried deep down inside us where we hide the things that make us ashamed of what we are, the things that make us the monsters we know we are. You just happened to see behind his."

"But why there?" Hayley's voice was soft. "Why would he hide there?"

"I don't know. I only have my opinions."

"Which are?" she asked. Honestly, she wanted to know. Hayley was at a loss, so anything -any suggestion- would be better than the thoughts running through her head, or lack thereof.

"Elijah knows what he is." She replied as kindly as she could. "He knows what he's done, and while he doesn't embrace it like Nik might, or even Rebekah, he accepts it. I… I think you found him there because that door represents him at his most basic, at his truest form."

Hayley's delicate brows pulled together tightly. Her eyes clouded with anger and fear, but they began to tint pink as well, and turn glassy. She was nearing tears.

"So that's what he is, a murderer?" She said with a shaking, stern voice. "And everything else, the honor, the kind smile, sophisticated words, the way he holds himself… that's all bullshit, a costume."

"I think it was." K nodded. "I think that's who he wanted to be, so he played the part. Until he met you." Confusion took the hybrid's features. "I think… you make him better." Hayley looked away again out of embarrassment which made K smile sweetly to herself. "He says he sees it in Nik, but I don't think he recognizes it in himself. You make him better, Hayley. I can see it when he looks at you. You make him happy."

K saw Hayley's brows furrow tighter than before as she continued to refuse to look up. Truth was, Hayley couldn't make herself do it. She was so conflicted, so hurt and scared that she had trouble accepting anything K said. That didn't mean she thought the vampire was wrong, however. It was just hard to see her point of view.

"How am I supposed to even look at him now?" she muttered in an increasingly broken voice. It hurt K to hear Hayley so scared and sad.

"We all started out as something else." K told her honestly. "Just remember that, okay?"

Hayley felt herself nod, but still wouldn't look up. K stood.

"Goodnight, Hayley."

"Night," she mumbled.

And a moment later, K was gone.


	20. Chapter 20

**AN:** This is both a bit short, and late, for which I apologize. Things happened, with stuff and yadda yadda. Still, I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think!

 **Chapter 20**

Season 4, Episode 11

 _A Spirit Here That Won't be Broken_

K was lying lazily in bed, half awake and playing absently with her wedding rings. She continued to stare up at the ceiling as she spun them around her finger. Sleep hadn't truly come that night and what did wasn't as restful as it should have been. Something was still praying at her mind, and she wasn't certain what it was. She wasn't scared, didn't feel guilty and she wasn't particularly stressed –despite the situation. The Hollow was simply another villain in a long line and barely seemed to register with her, but then again, perhaps that was the problem. Perhaps what kept her awake that night was that she wasn't as afraid as she knew she should have been?

As she lay there, the bed beside her shifted. K rolled her head to the side and saw Klaus had finally awaken. With a deep breath, sigh and stretch, he opened his eyes. She watched as it took him a moment for the world to come back into focus before his gaze drifted to her. A soft, almost imperceptible smile twisted at the corner of his full lips. She wanted to return the sentiment, but it didn't seem she had the strength, or her body simply didn't want to sink up with what her mind wished.

Klaus noticed her blank, lackluster expression and it caused his brow to flex just a bit. Without a word, he reached over and took her wrist. K fell easily into his guidance as Klaus pulled her to his side. Her head rested against his chest as Klaus began to tenderly run his fingers along her bicep.

"What's the matter?" he asked in a soft, subdued voice still heavy with sleep.

"I don't know." She answered truthfully. "Perhaps that's what's wrong."

He stared at the back of her head.

"Is it The Hollow, or Elijah?" he asked.

"I don't know," she repeated with a soft sigh. "Both… neither…" K shifted until she was on her back. "It's just…"

K silenced herself quickly before she admitted something she didn't want to. Klaus noticed her apprehension and narrowed his eyes as a result.

"What?" he queried.

K's eyes drifted to her hands once again. She began to pick at her fingernails and still refused to say anything.

"Hey," he muttered. Klaus tenderly touched her chin and brought her eye to him. "What's the matter?"

She looked sadly back at him.

"I don't want to say."

"Why?"

"Because I know you'll take it the wrong way."

His eyes hardened just a bit, but he did his best to keep it from his expression. The trouble was, K knew him too well and could see it despite his best efforts.

"Of course I won't."

She cocked a brow defiantly. Both knew he was lying, but both knew he wouldn't exactly relent now that it seemed K had something rather scandalous to say.

"I… it was just easier… before." She replied apprehensively.

"What was?"

"Everything."

His brows furrowed for a moment as understanding began to sink in.

"Before we woke." He mumbled.

Reluctantly, K nodded. Silence moved in and tension filled the air. K wanted to take back what she said, but it was the truth, every word of it, and that was perhaps what hurt Klaus the most. After a moment, K sat up. She adjusted herself to sit properly beside him. She barely kept his eye for more than a second or two at a time.

"I'm sorry," she told him honestly, "but it was. There were no monsters, no ghosts, and no ancient witches that wanted to kill Hope. She was just allowed to be a child, to be happy."

Klaus still wouldn't look at her. Instead, his focus remained on his fabric-covered lap as he digested her words. He wanted to be furious –and on some level he was- but that didn't mean he didn't believe her. He knew she spoke the truth and that was what hurt the most. It physically hurt his heart that his daughter was safer and happier without him around.

The longer he went without speaking, the guiltier K began to feel for saying anything at all. She could see how much it pained him.

K scooted just a bit closer and leaned forward, resting her hand on his hip so she could close as much of the distance between them as possible. Hesitantly, he met her stare. K reached forward with her free hand and gently held his jaw.

"She is happier now, though." She said. He didn't seem to believe her and it made the pit in her stomach grow denser. "She is, Nik. She's so much happier now having her family, but," her hand dropped and fell gently to his chest. "Things are complicated now. You have to realize that."

"I'm aware," his voice was clipped and before she could stop him, he shifted and she was forced to lean back. Klaus threw the blankets from his lap and stood. "This family is a curse. It always has been." He said, keeping his back to her.

K's heart sank and her head fell. She knew this would happen. Damn it, she knew this would happen and she opened her mouth anyway.

"Nik," she sighed as she slipped out of bed and moved towards the man who was beginning to dress for the day. "Look at me," he didn't turn. Her jaw clenched in growing frustration. Reaching out, she grabbed his shoulder and spun him to look at her. "Stop it. I shouldn't have said anything, okay? I'm sorry."

"It's the truth, though, isn't it?" again, his voice was short and his eyes hard. "The Original Family is nothing if not a walking curse. We bring nothing but death and destruction no matter where we roam." He was becoming sarcastic and angry. "Perhaps we're more akin a plague than anything else? What do you think, darling?"

Her jaw clenched yet again.

"Enough, okay?" she snapped. "Enough. You can't say I'm wrong, and you know it, so just stop. She loves you, Nik. She loves her father, her aunts and uncles. She loves having her family back and she is so happy now, but you can't deny the truth. This family is dangerous. It draws in bad things because it has a thousand years of darkness following it. I'm sorry it hurts your feelings, but I miss it. I miss that innocence she had during those years because it will never come back."

He said nothing, but stared defiantly at her for the majority of her rant. Halfway through, however, his hardened resolve began to shift. By the end, his expression again turned sad and K's followed suit. She stepped forward and took his hands in hers.

"I didn't say it to hurt your feelings, Nik." She said softly. "I didn't mean to make it sound like I was blaming you, because I don't. I know this isn't your family's fault." A light smirk gently tugged at her lips. "At least not this time."

He did his best to return the sentiment, but honestly, he was barely able. But it was true. This time, it wasn't the Mikaelsons' fault that Hope was in danger. Before, yeah, sure, but not now.

"The Hollow would've come after Hope with or without you guys being here." She told him as she pulled him closer. K wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Klaus did the same. "And I'm so glad you're here."

Klaus buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, half-hidden by her hair as he hugged her. Sadly, the fact that The Hollow would have come after Hope regardless of his proximity to her did make the hybrid feel better. At least this time, he wasn't the one who drew the monster.

After a moment, the pair pulled apart just enough to look at one another.

"I'm sorry I said anything." She told him honestly.

"No," Klaus shook his head, "don't be. You weren't wrong."

He sounded calmer than before, less likely to bellow his rage as he tended to and it made K feel an iota better. She still felt a bit guilty for even mentioning her worries, though.

Klaus leaned forward and kissed her softly.

"Come," he said as they parted. "Let us ready for the day."

K nodded, kissed him once more, and did as he suggested.

~!~

The cracks in Elijah's pendant were getting worse which meant nerves were beginning to fray. With each splinter, their patience grew thinner and their actions more erratic as far as K was concerned. She understood the urgency, but everyone was moving so goddamn fast it frightened her.

But she said nothing as the plan was laid out for what needed to be done. She said nothing as Freya –yet again- volunteered Hope for what had to be done. And she said nothing as Hayley agreed. Klaus had at least protested somewhat, but Hayley readily went to speak with Hope.

K tightened her fists hidden beneath crossed arms. She was silent, but only for now. Once this 'plan' (and she was reluctant to call it one) had finished, she would finally speak.

Weapons were soon laid out on a small table. Klaus looked over them while K stood in the background. Again, she said nothing. She was deep in her own thoughts, even as Freya emerged with news that neither Kol nor Rebekah was answering their phones.

"I'll not leave Hayley." Klaus warned.

"We don't have time for this." Freya snapped back. "The cracks are getting worse. You need to go, find Rebekah and Kol. I'll go with Hayley."

"And Hope?"

Freya's eyes danced to the space behind the hybrid where K stood, leaning against the wall near the stairs. He turned to see the vampire there as well. With a gentle nod, she told them both that yes, of course she would watch over her daughter.

"You're the best advantage we got, Klaus." Freya said. Her voice drew his attention again. "Be fast, be brutal and destroy the totem, or we're dead."

Klaus shifted in his spot. He took a deep breath and sighed before his eyes fell to the table. Resting there, he saw two daggers and picked them up.

"Here," he said as he stepped around the table and offered them to his sister, "For you and Hayley. Anoint these with a drop of Hope's blood. They'll serve you well."

She took the weapons from him and nodded, receiving the same from Klaus in response. He turned once more to K.

"May I speak with you for a moment?" he asked.

She said nothing as she pushed herself away from the wall and followed him out of the room.

They walked only a few yards until they were out of Freya's earshot before stopping. When they had, he took her hands in his and held them tightly. Worry took his eyes once again.

"Be vicious, if you must." He told her with a desperate age. "Let no one near our daughter."

She smiled softly and said, "What, like it's my first day?" she teased. He let out a breath of a laugh. "I'll keep her safe. You know that."

"I know." He nodded.

Klaus wrapped his arms around K and hugged her tightly. K clung to his shirt.

"Come back," she whispered.

"I will." He replied.

When they parted, he kissed her and disappeared shortly after.

~!~

Hope paced, which was something K hadn't seen the child do before. She didn't like it.

"You okay, sweetie?" she asked as she stepped into the room.

"I don't like that everybody's gone." Hope replied. "It feels like it's been forever."

K smiled sweetly as she stepped forward into Hope's path. She knelt down before the little girl to look her in the eye.

"I know, sweetheart. I know." K replied. "But what they're doing is very important, so it's going to take some time."

"I know," Hope sighed. "I'm just worried about them."

K smiled again as she hugged Hope tightly.

"It'll be fine." She said as she held Hope. K felt the lie wash through her and it hurt more than she thought it would. When they parted, she was sure to keep the reassuring smile. "Hungry?"

Hope shrugged a single shoulder. She was a bit, but she was more worried than anything.

"How about I make you a snack, hm? Some fruit? Chicken fingers?"

"Okay." Hope smiled weakly.

"Okay," K leaned forward and kissed the little girl's cheek before heading out.

No sooner than she was out of Hope's sight did her smile fall. She felt bad for lying to Hope, but this wasn't the kind of situation where the truth would help. Hope was already well aware of how dangerous The Hollow was. What would confirming it do?

Downstairs in the kitchen, K went about peeling an orange. She planned to give Hope a diced apple and orange slices for a snack. Hopefully it would help settle the little one's nerves. It wasn't as though she could drink, after all.

As she slid her thumb beneath the rind and began to tenderly separate the skin from the flesh of the orange, the air shifted. K glanced up mid-peel to see Kol standing in the doorway. She was temporarily stunned.

"Jesus, Kol," she sighed in relief when she saw him. "Nobody's been able to get a hold of you. Where've you been?"

"It's a long story," he said heavily. "Where is everyone?"

"Freya and Hayley have gone to seek out The Hollow," K replied in the same tone as she returned to peeling the orange. "And Nik went looking for you and Rebekah."

"So," Kol continued to approach until he stood at the same island where K was preparing the food. "You're here all alone?"

"Yeah," she nodded, still focused on her task. With the peel gone, she began to break apart the orange's sections. "I'm just making Hope a snack, some apple slices and an orange. She's a little scared."

"I'd imagine." He agreed. "Things must've been quiet with us gone."

K felt a twinge at his words given the conversation she had with Klaus earlier in the day, but nodded regardless.

"Yeah," she mumbled. "But once this is all done, everything'll be fine…"

"Of course," he nodded. He sounded as sure as she did, which wasn't much.

Kol planted his hands on the marble island top and watched as K set the orange slices down before reaching for the apple. She began to slice into it with a small parrying knife.

"May I ask you something, Kali?" Kol asked after a moment of silence. She glanced to him briefly through her lashes, nodded, and returned to her task. "Do you remain with my family out of loyalty, or love?"

The question caused her actions to pause. She raised her head to look at him sternly. She couldn't tell if he was teasing, or earnest in his inquiry. He could tell.

"I'm just curious." He explained. "After everything that's happened since the beginning, I'm just wondering why you're still here after a thousand years. Most would've run for the hills." He teased lightly.

K smirked at his ending comment.

"A smarter person would," she smiled as she returned to slicing the apple, "but to answer your question, both, I guess. In the last decade, I've grown to really care about everyone, so I guess I'm loyal _because_ I love them."

When Kol smiled again, it was as heavy as the rest of him, weighed down with growing guilt and resolution.

"Then I am sorry for this."

K barely had time to glance up with a questioning stare before Kol moved. He raced forward and snapped her neck. When her body went limp, he guided it gently to the ground.

"Truly," he said with a soft sigh, "I am sorry."

With her unconscious for the moment, Kol went about preparing everything to keep her that way. He didn't want her to get involved.

~!~

Upstairs, Hope continued to pace until someone stopped her. Standing in the doorway with a plate of fruit and a smile was Kol.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

As Kol watched Hope cradle the massive Monkey's Fist knot in her hands, he felt something prickle at the back of his neck. There was no yelling, no screaming or throwing of objects from another room, but he felt the very air around him grow cold and somehow knew Klaus was there.

"Now, concentrate on the knot, love." He told her as confidently as he could. "And I'll be right back."

Hope offered him a kind, sweet smile and a moment later, Kol was gone.

When he arrived downstairs, he met Klaus in the center of the courtyard. His elder brother stared blankly back, but Kol could see the rage.

"I'd imagine you're rather cross with me right now." He said honestly. Klaus' jaw tensed and relaxed a few times as he struggled to keep himself calm. "But you should know I have my reasons."

"Rebekah suggested I should hear them." Klaus said darkly. "I'd rather rip out your vocal chords."

Klaus flinched as he prepared to hit his younger brother, but Kol shot back and held his hands up.

"Nik, wait!" he exclaimed, hoping for only a few moments to explain himself. "Now, just listen to me, alright? I had no choice."

Klaus didn't listen, though Kol hardly expected him to. Instead, the hybrid raced forward and landed a fierce blow. Kol sailed through the air and smashed into the lawn furniture set up near the stairs. When Klaus closed in, Kol struck back and sent Klaus flying into the fountain filled with ferns.

"Stop it!" Kol bellowed. "Just listen. I did what I did for Davina." He said as he approached his brother. "The Hollow brought her back and now their linked. I just need a _bloody_ second to undo the spell."

Still angered, Klaus raced forward, gripped Kol by his jacket and launched him into the distance. Kol crashed into a table, knocking the candles from the surface and crushing it beneath his body.

"Lovesick imbecile!" Klaus yelled. "The Hollow prays upon your weakness. She raised Davina to get you to betray your family, and you –pathetic as you are- leapt at the chance."

Klaus swung for Kol, but the younger vampire blocked the swipes expertly and turned them on his brother, smashing his fist into Klaus' face and knocking him to the ground.

"Our family owes Davina that much." Kol said as he stood over the fallen hybrid.

Klaus glared hatefully at Kol through his lashes.

"I owe nothing to her," he growled in a voice to match his deadly expression. "Nor to you."

The fight between them continued and became more aggressive than before. Kol was desperate to waste time, but Klaus was desperate to get a piece of his little brother and that created a problem for the vampire.

As they fought, Klaus again grabbed Kol by the collar and lobbed him into the distance. Kol slammed into one of the many concrete columns in the courtyard. The impact jostled loose the one thing he'd hoped to keep hidden: the glowing blue gem.

A wicked, evil smile crossed Klaus' lips as he placed his boot over the glittering totem. Kol couldn't keep the fear and horror from his features. He knew what his brother planned to do and a moment later, with the same effort as one would crush a grape, Klaus smashed the stone beneath his boot.

Kol pushed himself onto his knees as Klaus produced a blade from his jacket. The younger sibling felt his gut sink and his heart twist.

"No, Nik," he begged openly, "Please. I have to know if she's still alive." Klaus stepped closer, eying his brother like a predator would its prey, "Please grant me this one mercy."

"Mercy is a privilege reserved for family," Klaus' voice was twisted with anger and betrayal. "And your status has been revoked."

Klaus raised his hand high and brought the blade down. Kol quickly caught the glinting metal and struggled to keep it from piercing his chest.

"No, brother. No, please!" Kol pleaded and blood sprang from his hands like a fountain. "For a thousand years, I've never experienced love or peace!" Klaus remained emotionless as he tried to kill his brother. "Davina changed me!" The hybrid growled as he placed a second hand on the weapon. He just wanted to shut Kol up. "What if it were Kali?!" he continued to beseech the monster. His arms were beginning to tremble as he fought against Klaus' undeniable strength. "What if she was gone and you were given the chance to return her? Would you not do as I did?"

Klaus' jaw clenched so tightly it looked as though he may crack his teeth. A thought –faster than lightning- surged through his brain in an instant. He felt foolish for not realizing it before, but he'd been so deep in his hatred of Kol that it never donned on him that someone was missing.

Klaus' eyes darkened with murderous intent as he stared down at his brother.

"Where _is_ Kali?" he queried.

Kol felt a shudder run through him at not only the look in his brother's eye, but the sound of his voice.

"She's safe." He felt the need to say as quickly as possible. "Honestly, Nik, Kali's safe. I just needed her out of the way. She never would have let me use Hope for the detangling spell."

Klaus shoved his body against the blade in his hands and forced it to inch closer and the distance between he and Kol to lessen.

"Where is she?" he growled again.

"In the other room." He said hastily. "She'll be perfectly fine."

Klaus' eyes nearly glowed with growing rage. But as he stared down at Kol, he could see his brother's desperation, his pleading, and realized that for once it wasn't for his own skin. Kol said nothing about letting himself live. He didn't beg for Klaus to spare him, or forgive him. He asked only that he be allowed to know if Davina was alive. He simply wanted to know that she was breathing, that she'd continue on with the life the Mikaelsons had once taken from her, before Klaus sent him once again into the Netherworld.

With an angry growl, Klaus relinquished his assault on Kol and took wide steps back. The youngest sibling remained motionless, breathing heavily and slowly healing as he stared wide-eyed at Klaus. The hybrid paced briefly before pointing the bloody dagger at Kol.

"If Davina was worth all of this, then go." He said sternly. "Go and be with your love, but remember this, brother, I want nothing else to do with you."

Kol slowly pushed himself to his feet. The disbelief, fear and relief that was painted across his face was undeniable.

"Thank you, Nik." He said with the truest reverence.

"Go." Klaus repeated.

Without another word, Kol did as Klaus demanded and disappeared.

Stewing in his rage and hurt, Klaus went in search of K. As Kol had said, she was resting in an adjacent room. She was sitting in a high-backed chair, leaning limply to the side and covered in protruding veins. The sight made Klaus' heart drop, but he knew it wasn't from being killed. Firstly, Kol wouldn't be so foolish. Secondly, there was no stake. And thirdly, she wasn't grey.

As he closed the distance between them, Klaus could smell the sweet, acrid stench of vervain and assumed he knew what Kol had done. It was most likely that his brother had snapped her neck and injected her with the toxic herb, ensuring that it kept her healing factor slowed to the point it was nearly nonexistent. The poison would account for the veins, too. She was 'asleep' at the moment, and he knew how to rouse her.

Carefully, Klaus lifted K into his arms and took the seat. He gently positioned her in his lap as comfortably as he could before biting into his wrist and pressing it to her lips. It took a moment or two for the blood to make it into her system, but when it did, he saw the 'wounds' begin to recede. He only had to reopen his wrist once more before the veins across her body disappeared and she bit down into his skin.

K drank for only a second or two before she felt her strength return. When it did, she released the one she knew to be Klaus and opened her eyes. He smiled kindly to her, but she was clearly agitated.

"Where is he?" she demanded as she pushed herself out of his lap.

"Gone," Klaus said as he rose to his feet. "If he's smart."

"You let him go?"

"Yes," he nodded.

She glowered deeply. Her anger was understandable, and while Klaus would have liked to give her the revenge she clearly wanted, he was glad Kol was gone.

"Come," Klaus said as he glided to his feet. He offered K an extended hand. "Freya should be nearly ready to wake Elijah."

While she wanted to find Kol more, K did take his hand and walk alongside Klaus to the upstairs room where Freya had setup her spell work.

~!~

 **Season 4, Episode 12**

 _A Voodoo Child_

K had just exited the shower in hers and Klaus' bedroom. A towel was wrapped around her body while she held another to dry the massive amount of thick, dark hair she now had. It was a process, especially considering her hair nearly touched her hips. She really needed to cut it.

A knock at the door barely had time to be heard before the door swung wide open. K expected to see Klaus, but he wasn't the one who'd come to speak with her.

"Dude!" she snapped as she did her best to secure her towel around her body when confronted with Hayley.

"I need to talk to you." She said without any indication that she knew she was invading someone's privacy.

"I'm naked." K exclaimed.

"You're in a towel." Hayley countered. K glowered. "Fine. Get dressed, but hurry up. This is important."

"Fine, just… get out."

Hayley said nothing else and did as K demanded. Alone again, the vampire sighed her aggravation. Being walked in on was something both adults had grown accustomed to when Hope was much younger –she didn't seem to understand knocking- but not something they had to worry about in recent years, so the shock of it was genuine. Still, if Hayley barged in on her in the bathroom, K wondered just what had her so bothered.

About ten minutes later, when she was fully clothed and her damp hair still hung heavily from her head, K sought out Hayley. She found the young hybrid pacing anxiously in one of the many rooms that was nowhere near the Originals.

"Okay," K sighed, "What is so damn important that you had to barge in on me in the bathroom, hm?"

Hayley stopped moving. She turned towards K, but didn't immediately offer an answer. Instead, she wrung her hands repeatedly and avoided eye contact for a moment or two. It caused K to narrow her eyes.

"What?" she asked with genuine concern as she stepped closer.

Hayley looked around briefly, as though assessing whether or not they would be overheard, and quickly closed the distance between herself and K as a result.

"I uh…" she began uncertainly, "I wanted to talk to you about Hope." K nodded and waited for Hayley to continue. The hybrid apprehensively met her stare, "About whether or not we should stay here…"

K's brows slowly twitched together as she did her best to discern what Hayley meant. She thought at first the young woman was speaking about staying in New Orleans, something all of them knew wasn't going to happen, but within seconds, she began to realize that no, the city had nothing to do with it. K's face fell blank and Hayley knew in that moment she understood.

"You want to take Hope away from the others." She muttered almost too softly for Hayley to hear. Given the conversation they seemed ready to have, it was the wisest option.

"I think so," she answered just as quietly. The two stepped closer to one another until they stood only arm's length from one another. She began to pick at her fingernails, "I think we have to."

"If you plan to separate her from them, you had better be damn sure." K said sternly.

Hayley sighed heavily and growled to herself. Her agitation was growing.

"You can't think staying with them is a good idea." She snapped under her breath. "In the last week, Hope's had to do spells, and she's been psychically attacked. She's had to deal with vampires and witches and being shut off it the bayou because of all of the crazy that follows the Mikaelsons around. You can't seriously stand there and tell me you think it's ever going to get better." K said nothing as she stared at Hayley emotionlessly. "She isn't safe here… with them…"

K took a deep breath and sighed. With it, her shoulders fell. K propped a hand on her hip while resting the other on her forehead. She felt heavy, all of the sudden.

"I know," she mumbled after a moment. K buried her face in both hands. "I know," her voice was muffled. After taking another deep breath, K dropped her hands and met Hayley's stare. "I've… been thinking the same thing."

A glimmer of hope, a light spark of relief, shined in Hayley's eyes. Knowing that she wasn't alone in her fear and desire to do something different was overwhelmingly welcomed. But, knowing that she had a comrade for what was coming didn't exactly help Hayley, either.

"What do we do?" she asked. "We can't just take her away. I tried that once… it didn't work."

A weak scoff of a laugh left K's lips. Hayley was referring to the time she and Jackson tried to take Hope away from the Mikaelsons and it ended in the entire wolf pack being cursed to remain wolves until the full moon.

"We can only talk to them." K replied. Hayley's face fell as she stared at K with an expression the vampire could only describe as the _seriously?_ expression. "I'm serious. You can't just take her away, not when she knows everyone now."

"Klaus won't let us take her away from everyone. He's too protective."

K shrugged a single shoulder, "Maybe. Maybe not. The problem is finding out how to do it. Klaus isn't going to want to be away from her, obviously. You and I aren't going anywhere, and now that you're with Elijah-" K paused when she noticed Hayley immediately flinch at the mention of the eldest brother. She narrowed her eyes. "Are… are you still with Elijah?" Hayley continued to shift uncomfortably. "Hey, look at me."

"I don't know." Hayley mumbled as she barely met K's eye. "It's complicated."

"Yeah, so's everything else." She quipped sharply. "What's going on?"

Hayley chewed on her bottom lip, her brows pulled together tightly and for a moment, K wondered if she was going to cry. She suddenly looked so lost, so scared and it broke K's heart as a result. Through the last few years, the pair had grown incredibly close. Hayley was perhaps her best friend now, and seeing her hurt like she was made K feel the same.

"Hey," she cooed softly as she reached forward and wrapped her arms around Hayley. The hybrid hugged her back tightly, gripping fistfuls of K's shirt as she did. "It's okay." She reassured. "Whatever you saw in there, it's in the past, okay? You don't have to be scared of him."

"I'm not," she replied in a wavering voice. "And _that's_ what scares me."

K pulled back just enough to look at Hayley questioningly.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Hayley's eyes were tinting pink, glassing over and she was near tears, but K could see the exhaustion. In that moment, she found herself wondering just how long Hayley had been struggling with this decision.

"I'm scared because it doesn't bother me." She admitted. "I don't want Hope to think that's okay. I don't want her to think what this family does to people who make them angry is right. She is too sweet, and kind, and innocent. We can't let that happen. We can't let this world get to her."

"Okay," K hugged her close again. "Okay, we won't. We'll think of something."

She felt Hayley nod into her shoulder.

K didn't know how they would solve their current problem. How were they going to extricate Hope from her family? They couldn't, honestly. Worse yet, they had to. Having all of them around her at once was a bad idea and both mothers had seen it on more than a single account since making their way to New Orleans. The others' willingness to thrust Hope into what they were doing was unacceptable as far as they were concerned.

~!~

As the day progressed and all of the family had spread out to contend with the issues at hand, a more disturbing truth made itself known. Not only was The Hollow still alive, but now she was swimming around inside Hope's body. She was slithering beneath the skin of someone all of them loved so dearly, and they knew that was the point.

Inadu was smart.

"We have to work fast." Freya said as K and Hayley joined her. "The necklace is meant to hold those of Mikaelson blood," she continued as K handed her the gemmed chain, "And I tried to repair the pendent as much as possible."

"So, we'll put Hope inside it and-" Hayley said.

Without warning, the gem burst. The miniscule pieces of blue stone rained onto the table top. There was no hope of repair now.

"Valiant effort," a dead, monotone voice replied. The three shifted their gazes to the figure in black. "But Hope belongs to me."

Inadu flicked her wrist and sent Freya flying into a wall. She crumpled to the floor, if not broken, then breaking.

"Over my dead body." Hayley growled.

Together, she and K launched themselves at the figment only to realize that was exactly what The Hollow had become, a figment. They passed through her like she was mist.

The fight between the ghost and the monsters raged, but no one gained any headway. Without something tangible, corporeal to get their hands on, Hayley and K did little more than annoy The Hollow. And after a few minutes of tossing them around like a ship in a storm, she had her fill.

"Enough," she sighed. With another twist of her delicate wrist, The Hollow sent a chunk of wood flying into Hayley's chest. The hybrid sailed through the air before becoming caught on the wrought iron door. Inadu turned to face K.

"I'm going to kill you, you hear me?" she growled at the ghost.

The Hollow's thin lips twisted into a smirk.

"Not if I kill you first."

K felt something pierce her chest. She felt her feet leave the ground and her back hit something hard. She felt the life drain out of her before everything went black.

~!~

"Hope is gone," Vincent declared.

"What?!" Hayley snapped as she and the others made their way into the courtyard.

"She's The Hollow now."

"We have to find her." Elijah said. "Vincent, you have to pull her out."

"Elijah, if it was as easy as pulling her out, I would not be standing here talking to you right now!" he said angrily. "The problem is, I have nowhere to put her. The book is destroyed and it was the only thing strong enough to hold her eternal soul."

Hayley was frantic. Her mind raced and she couldn't stand still. She needed to find Hope, to try and talk to her. Anything! But she didn't want to go alone.

Hayley's eyes danced along the surrounding area and noticed K was nowhere within the group. She took only a few steps before seeing something just hidden behind some of the greenery that hadn't been trimmed away. It was K and Hayley raced for her immediately.

When The Hollow attacked, she pierced K's heart with wood just as she had Hayley and Rebekah. The vampire was currently pinned to the stucco wall she'd been thrown against, left to dangle like a piece of meat in a freezer. Hayley didn't hesitate to grip the piece of wood and yank it from her chest. K's body crumbled, but Hayley caught her and waited. Within seconds, the grey veins began to subside and K woke with a start.

"Come on," Hayley said as she guided the dazed vampire to her feet.

"What's going on?" K muttered as she came to reality.

"The Hollow took Hope. We couldn't stop her."

"What?!"

Hayley said nothing as she stared at K. In that silent moment, both knew what had to be done and without a word, headed for the door. Neither even bothered to glance at the crowd.

"Hayley, wait!" Elijah called as he jogged after the two. "Where are you going?"

"To find my daughter." She snapped.

"You don't know where to start."

"I'll figure it out!" she barked.

"Hayley," Elijah snatched her arm and forced her to turn.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled as she yanked her arm away. The abrupt action caused K to pause as well.

Elijah took a breath and did his best to calm his trembling voice, "I am on your side."

Hayley radiated anger as she stared back at him. Elijah had never seen the emotion aimed in his direction before and it hurt. It physically hurt.

"Kali and I never should have brought her here." Hayley said as she stepped away.

Elijah watched as she walked passed K and to the door. When she had, his eyes instinctively darted to the vampire who shared the hybrid's rage. With a scoff and shake of the head, K left after Hayley.

The two disappeared into the night in search of the only thing either of them could think of.

Why did everything with the Mikaelsons have to be so goddamn hard? Why?!


	22. Chapter 22

**AN:** Not gonna lie, I teared up writing this, so fair warning. I don't know what I'm going to do since this is the end of the season, so I think I'm going to end it here. Be sure to follow just in case I do add a chapter, (knowing me, I probably will at some point, lol) but for now, I'm done. Thank you guys for staying with it and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 22**

Season 4, Episode 13

 _The Feast of all Sinners_

Rebekah stared desperately at Elijah, praying her words would make it through his thick skull.

"You know that feeling, Elijah." She said. "At first, being apart is exhilarating, until one morning you wake with that awful, grating hole-"

"And it feels like it will consume you." He finished. "I'm aware."

She felt her heart begin to sink, dropping deep in her chest.

"If Kol doesn't come, that means we'll have to use Hayley. She's Hope's only other immortal, living relative. That means you would have to part ways with her, too."

"Kol will come." He asserted. "And Niklaus will be with his family. The three of them must stay together."

"Oh," she snapped indignantly, "So you would just walk away from the woman you love?" Elijah took a deep breath and tightened his jaw as he struggled to keep his composure. "And what about Nik, on his own, with no family? You know very well that without you around he will go mad."

His shoulders went rigid as he rose himself to stand as tall as he could. It made him look more intimidating to those who didn't know him, but to Rebekah, she saw it for what it was: a weak attempt to remain in control.

"He has Kali, now." He told his sister solemnly. "She can keep him sane."

Rebekah's brows came together. She felt the pain of his declaration as easily as he did.

"As much as I love Kali," she began sincerely, "Do you truly think she alone can do that? For eternity, Elijah. This isn't for a few decades, or even a century. This is for the rest of time, until New Orleans rusts and crumbles to the ground and a new city is built atop its ruins. Until this decade becomes a distant memory like the Renaissance, or the bloody Bronze Age." She stepped forward and planted her hands on the desk between them, drawing his stern eye to her worried gaze. "This is forever, brother."

"I know," his words barely make it passed his lips. He knows the gravity of the situation, but he also knows The Hollow can't remain in Hope.

~!~

Elsewhere in the city, screams and the sounds of breaking glass snap Hayley and K to attention. Their jaunt stops briefly as the sick feeling creeps back into their bodies. K glanced to her closest friend and in that moment, they knew what was happening. Without a word or hesitation, they raced towards the sounds.

K felt her heart break when she saw Hope standing in the middle of the road, in the middle of the destruction, and flanked by The Hollow's zealots.

"Hope!" Hayley's voice is shrill and piercing, drawing the creature's attention as it swims around in Hope's skin. "I know you can hear me, baby. I need you to fight her."

"You're stronger than her, Hope." K called out. "That's why she needed you, that's why she took you, because you're the only one stronger than she is. Fight, sweetheart. Fight back with everything you've got."

'Hope' looks from one pleading mother to the other and a wicked smirk twists her lips.

"Hm," she scoffs, "The two of you think you can stop me?"

"You can't have her." K growled through her teeth.

"We'll see." It replied.

Before either K or Hayley could take a step forward, 'Hope' raised her hand. The two are immediately taken from their feet and sent high into the air. K couldn't move, she couldn't breathe because the spell holding her was so tight. It wrapped around her like an invisible python threatening to choke the life from her, and it was heartbreaking. She could feel the evil, feel the hatred and malice, and it all came from the most innocent, sweetest girl she'd ever known.

Tears slowly well in her eyes before the world goes black. K's brain barely registered the feeling of her neck snapping and then silence.

~!~

K and Hayley suddenly woke sometime later. It was dark and the room they were in was foreign, but the sight of one another helped calm them a bit.

"You're alright." A familiar voice chimed, drawing their eyes to Vincent. "You guys are fine."

"How… how did we get here?" Hayley asked.

"A couple of witches found you guys lying in the middle of the street. They called me and I brought you here." He explained calmly.

"I have to go," Hayley said without really bothering to absorb his words. "I have to get that thing out of Hope."

"I know," his voice remained even and for some reason, it was terrifying. "That's why I'm here, preparing for this ritual."

K and Hayley immediately paused. Their eyes bore into him.

"What ritual?" K asked with an edge.

Vincent hesitated to turn and when he did, he looked devoid of emotion. It wasn't an uncommon state when speaking to people from the Mikaelson family, but still unnerving to see.

"I am going to pull the Hollow out of your little girl, but with the book gone… I have to substitute a vessel." He explained. " _Vessels_ , actually. I have to use something eternal, something undying, that shares Hope's blood to bind this thing."

"I don't…" Hayley mumbled. Her brain was still a bit fuzzy and it took a moment to come to the conclusion K was afraid she may have caught.

"You have to put it in the Mikaelsons." She said. To Hayley's horror, Vincent nodded.

"And they can't see each other again when I do, ever." He said. "The Hollow will always try to reconnect with itself, reunite, so once it's in them, they have to go to their own separate corners of the globe and stay there."

Hayley and K were on their feet. K had taken to pacing while Hayley could do little more than shift her weight from one foot to the other as the two of them took in what he was saying. True, it was straightforward, but not at the same time.

"And there's something else." He said after a few moments of contemplation.

"Of course there is," K mumbled with a sigh.

"When you two leave here, you need to go home and pack your bags. You _need_ to find a way out of town, quick and quiet, just for you and Hope."

"What are you talking about?" Hayley dared to ask.

"Hayley, The Hollow has felt your little girl's power." He said as plainly as he could. There was no point in beating around the bush. "And it's gonna want to get that power back. And when we finish this ritual, The Hollow is going to live inside the Mikaelsons. Through them, it's going to reach out, and it's going to try and regain access to your little girl. That can _never_ happen and any time they are anywhere near her, she is not going to be safe. Ever."

The air turned tense the longer he spoke. K had moved close once again and stood beside Hayley as she listened to the witch lay out his plan. Each word stabbed at her very being and there was only more to come.

"And you know with Klaus Mikaelson, he's not going to be okay with that." His eyes darted briefly to K before again settling on Hayley. K assumed he thought she'd protest, attack or something else foolish, but she wouldn't. It wasn't as though he was wrong. "So when we finish this ritual, when we get your little girl back, you have got to go. Both of you. You take her, and you run like hell."

It was slow, but the realization of what Vincent was asking of them, what he was telling them, made its way into their heads. It took a moment because neither K nor Hayley wanted to admit he was right, that if this was the only way to save Hope, she'd have to lose her family forever.

~!~

The air inside the compound changed the moment Hayley told everyone the truth. It became heavier -if it were possible- to the point everyone had trouble breathing.

To get a moment to herself and let the thoughts coursing through her mind settle as best they could, K found herself sitting on Klaus' bed staring at her photo album. The pictures of Hope were her only focus for obvious reasons.

The approaching footsteps didn't even meet her ears as Klaus entered the room. When he saw her sitting on his bed, he hesitated. His heart ached. Not only was he going to lose his daughter and his siblings, but he was going to lose his wife along with them.

Tears burned his eyes like acid as they fought to come forth, but he refused them. As he stood back, he let himself absorb the moment, appreciate the silence of it, the stillness of it and K's part in it. Eventually, however, he wanted nothing more than to touch her again and moved closer.

His eyes fell to the pictures in her lap. They all made him smile, but one in particular nearly caused him to chuckle.

"I rather like that one." He said, pointing to a picture of the three women in his life as he took a seat beside K.

The photo he pointed to was of K, Hayley and Hope all smashed together in a selfie. Hope's face was painted like a cat with whiskers and everything, a pair of cat ears on her head. Hayley was wearing a witch's hat and had a giant, ugly wart glued to her face just below her left eye and somehow it didn't detract from her beauty. K had face paint that turned her into a rabbit as much as Hope was a cat, including the long floppy ears.

"Halloween last year." K said with a shaky voice.

Klaus scooted closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her gently to his side and K obliged. He pressed his lips to the top of her head.

"I am sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I never wanted this to happen."

"I know," she replied in the same soft voice.

K drew back just enough to look at him and Klaus let her. He reached up and gently cradled her jaw. His face twisted with hurt and hers soon followed suit.

"I have to ask you something." He finally asked. K nodded and simply waited for what he needed. "Be my intermediary, please." Her brows slowly twitched together. "Be my eyes, my ears. Be there for her when I can't."

K's eyes drifted shut and her head fell. He heard her sniff and knew she was dangerously close to crying, but this was something he had to get out and forced her to meet his eye again as a result.

"And please come back to me." He pleaded. "Watch over her, but please don't abandon me, not forever."

"What are you talking about?" she asked with genuine confusion.

"You are her mother." He told her emphatically. "And you always will be. You're not bound by The Hollow, so will you…" his words caught in his throat, but K felt she may have known what he wanted. After a moment, he looked at her again with eyes tinting pink and glassing with tears. "I don't care if it's once a year –once a decade- but find me, tell me how she is, please."

K's heart broke and she wrapped her arms around him tightly. Klaus hugged her in return and buried his face in the nape of her neck, nestling himself in the crook just behind her jaw and in her hair.

Not being connected to The Hollow, K could move between the siblings and Hope as easily as Freya or Hayley could, and that's what he wanted. Klaus wanted her to stay with their little girl, to help raise her like she'd been doing since the day Hope was born, but to come back to him periodically. He wanted her to keep him apprised of his daughter's life, because he'd never get the chance to see it himself.

"Help keep me from the darkness." He muttered into her skin. "I don't want to return there, not again."

Tears poured from K's closed eyes. She wanted to give him everything he could ever ask, everything he could ever want.

"I won't." her voice trembled as she hugged him tightly before pulling back. K tenderly held his jaw in her hand and smiled as best her breaking heart would allow. "I know what to do, sweetheart. You'll know you're daughter, always."

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers.

"And forever," left his lips on a breath. The words never hurt more in his life.

~!~

It finally came time for the spell to be done. Preparations had been made on everyone's account, goodbyes given, trinkets handed off –everything- so they could flee immediately afterwards.

" _The Savage Mikaelsons Heroically Defeating an Evil_ ," Rebekah sighed, speaking as though she was reciting the title to an epic poem of love, heartache and sacrifice. She wasn't wrong. "Maybe this will finally earn us our redemption?" a weak laugh touched her words.

"Do any of this really believe that?" Klaus challenged with the same heavy tease.

"Not for a second," Elijah quipped. He tried to force a smile, but it was little more than a twitch of his lips. "It's a wonderful sentiment, though."

They had done their best to lighten the mood, but it was impossible given what was happening.

Hayley remained in the square cradling Hope in her arms with the others surrounding her, but her teary eyes only fell to one. K was slowly approaching Klaus one final time. Seeing her approach from his periphery, the Wolf King shifted just enough to look at her and struggled to do so. He couldn't meet her eye for longer than a moment or two, but she refused to let him look away. As he had with her, K took his jaw sweetly in her hands and guided him to look at her.

For a moment, they simply stared at one another in heartbreaking silence.

"I love you," her voice shook, " _So_ much." Her face twisted and the tears came without warning, gliding down her cheeks in heated streams. Klaus felt compelled to reach forward. He ran the back of his curled index finger down her face to rid her skin of the dampness.

"No tears, darling." He said with his false confidence, "All will be fine."

A weak, breathy laugh barely made it passed her lips. K was beginning to shake with the weight of what was going to happen and pulled him into another hug as a result. Klaus held her tightly, reveling in the brief contact because he knew there was no way for him to know if and when it happened again. When they parted, she again gently touched his cheek.

"You are so damn infuriating, you know that?" she teased. A soft smile tugged at his lips, but disappeared quickly.

"We don't have long."

Vincent's voice jolted K back into reality and she realized she was holding up the spell. They didn't know how long Hope would be unconscious, so they had to hurry.

"Right," she offered him a soft nod and turned her eyes back to Klaus. K took in a shaking breath and forced a smile as best she could. "Remember me," her voice was nearly shaking to the point he couldn't understand her, but she couldn't control it. K felt as though she'd collapse. "Okay? Remember me."

"Always," he felt compelled to say.

She felt herself nod, "I will never forget you," she whimpered, "And I will always, _always_ love you, Nik."

His brows came together as he stared at her in confusion. They'd made plans for her to visit him, so he didn't understand what she was saying. The sudden thought that she had no intentions of following through with their plan barely had time to cross his mind before she closed the distance between them and kissed him.

Klaus reciprocated the action, but it felt different -wrong almost- and he didn't know why. He felt nothing but fear, sadness and the purest agony pour into him from her lips. It terrified him.

After only a moment, K drew back just far enough to press her forehead to his. Tears ran in rivers down her cheeks and she struggled to catch her breath.

"Goodbye, my love."

No sooner than the words left her lips did K wrench Klaus' head violently to the side. She let out a mewling cry as she guided him gently to the ground. The others were horrified by what they saw.

"What have you done?" Elijah demanded as K made sure Klaus was away from the spell.

She said nothing as she took his place. Her eyes were locked to the little girl in the center.

"I gave Hope her father." She said as emotionlessly as she could.

With a gentle nod to Vincent, the witch began the spell. She had come to him while he was preparing and said she was taking Klaus' spot. He tried to protest at first, but she informed him that she was as much Mikaelson as the others, literally. He only had to do a small spell to realize she was right. At first, he still tried to protest, but she refused to let him convince and said regardless of his desires, Klaus wouldn't be the fourth.

K couldn't tear her eyes from the two in the center even as Vincent chanted. She soaked up as much of Hope as she could for as long as she could.

Within seconds, blue light spewed from the little girl and sailed into each of those standing in the range of the spell, including K. It merged with her as easily as it did the others, but once it had, once the others fled, K remained.

"Kali, go." Vincent demanded, but she couldn't move.

"I have to know she's okay." She said.

"I promise, she'll be fine, so long as you leave."

K's vision blurred. She felt The Hollow inside her, clawing to get out, scratching at her insides to get closer to Hope, but she couldn't leave, not yet.

Hope soon shifted in Hayley's arms and the hybrid immediately went to console her daughter. K breathed her instant relief, but broke when Hope looked at her. She forced a smile anyway, despite the newest onslaught of tears.

"Mama," Hope mumbled at the sight of her.

"Hey, baby," K choked out. "I love you, okay? Just remember that, I love you. Always and forever."

Hope's brows came together, but before she could speak, K ran. She didn't know if she could last a moment longer if she didn't.

Hope's screams for her followed K as she fled the compound and before she could pull it back, K roared loudly in pain. Her heart, no, her soul was being torn apart.

"Where's she going?" Hope demanded as she struggled to sit up. "Mom, where's she going?"

Hayley chewed on her bottom lip to keep her daughter from seeing it quiver, but it barely worked. She tenderly ran her fingers through Hope's hair.

"She's gone, baby." Hayley muttered. "She's gone."

The words barely made it out. Hayley hated her for leaving. She hated K for taking Klaus' spot and running. Their conversation only an hour ago still echoed loudly in her mind.

 **An Hour Prior:**

"Shut up," K said with a wavering voice. She took Hayley's hands and held them in hers as she valiantly tried to hold back the tears that threatened to take her. "We both know Klaus can't be away from Hope. Between his uncontrollable drive to save his daughter and The Hollow wanting her power, there'd be nowhere to hide."

Hayley's brows came together. She chewed on her cheek because she knew what K was about to say.

"No," she breathed as her eyes began to glisten. "No, you can't leave us. You're Hope's mother, too. You can't just walk away."

"Either I take his place," her breath hitched, "or we live in fear and she lives without her father and that's not an option." K blinked and the tears she'd been holding back slowly began to trickle down her cheeks. "Hope needs you, and Nik."

"You can't do this." Her voice quivered.

K felt her heart break and reached forward, wrapping her arms around Hayley and holding her close. Hayley squeezed K, hugged her tighter than she had anyone before.

"We've always done this together." Hayley's voice was muffled by K's shoulder. "You've been there since day one. Hope can't lose you, too."

K buried her face in Hayley's shoulder and shuddered as another bought of tears came. She fought to keep from sobbing, but she didn't seem to have the strength. Instead, she clenched fistfuls of Hayley's shirt in her hands and just held her as tightly as she could.

"I'm going to miss you guys." She whimpered into Hayley's skin. "So much."

K felt her bones splinter when Hayley's grip intensified, but she couldn't make her stop. It was more comforting than painful at this point because K felt like her heart was being torn from her chest.

"I love you," she mumbled.

"I love you, too." Hayley replied.

When they parted, neither bothered hiding the fact that they were crying, but did their best to keep it together for the sake of everyone else.

"Take care of her, please?" K struggled to even speak as the gravity of her decision threatened to crush her. "And make sure she remembers me."

Hayley could do little more than nod.

 **London, England**

K stood in the window of her hotel looking out over the bustling city. A lot had changed since her last visit to London one-hundred and fifty years ago, but she didn't care. She was emotionless, empty.

Klaus was her heart, Hope her soul, and now she had neither.


	23. Chapter 23

**AN:** Hey guys! Okay, so, I think I know what I'm going to do. There's this, one more and then I think one after that. I've decided to jump ahead another five years since (from what I've heard) next season will take place when Hope's a teenager, so they plan to time-jump again. As a result, I think five years is a safe time frame. This chapter is Klaus and Hayley. The next one will be them, but mostly Hope (I think) and 25 will be K. Let me know what you think! And thank you so much for keeping with it. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 23**

KLAUS

Klaus was inconsolable with rage. Freya, Keelin, Hope and Hayley had left the property for the time being because there was nowhere to hide from Hurricane Hybrid.

His body burned with rage. His throat ached and his voice had gone hoarse, twisting his screams with something more primal than human. The wolf inside constantly threatened to come out, to rip through his skin and ravage the world around him, but something kept it at bay. Somewhere, deep down, Klaus knew that if the wolf emerged, he'd never be able to pull it back.

He'd been shaking for so long, he was amazed his bones hadn't shattered from the force. Tears came and went in waves leaving his face damp, but never free of them completely.

Klaus couldn't put into words how he felt. Nothing seemed big enough, accurate enough, to describe how he felt. Was he hurt? No, he was passed that. Angry? Again, passed that. Scared and sad, heartbroken? No to all of it. None of it even touched the level of emotion running through his veins.

With another loud roar that echoed easily through the compound, Klaus launched an antique chair he once loved at a wall. The piece caught just the edge of the wall and its path severely diverted as a result. Instead of it smashing against the surface and erupting into a thousand pieces like he wanted, it sailed through his wide windows. Breaking glass filled the air and cascaded into the alley below like deadly rain. The chair hit the wall of the neighboring building, finally broke apart like he'd wanted and dug a divot out of the brick in the process.

There had to be more. There had to be more for him to break, for him to throw. His eyes darted around for something else to take his wrath.

Did he not give her everything? Did he not give her anything she could possibly want? Yes, so how could she do this to him? How could she walk away and disappear? No, she didn't walk. She ran. K betrayed him in the deepest sense and ran before he could wake.

Another torrent of unadulterated hatred and rage swept through his body, tightening his muscles to the point they ached, and then he saw it. A small sliver of white rested in the middle of his colored pillowcase. Klaus' brows came together and the room was given a brief reprieve from his ire as he approached. No sooner than he saw his name scrawled on the surface did he know immediately who it was from and his blood ran cold as a result.

Klaus was stuck somewhere between wanting to read the letter – _needing_ to read it- and burning it without ever glancing inside. He didn't want to give K the chance to explain what she'd done. He didn't want to give her the chance to make him see reason or calm him down like he knew her words likely would. He wanted to be angry because he felt he had the right, but that didn't seem to matter. Unaware he'd been stepping closer and closer to the letter during his internal tirade; Klaus didn't come back to the moment until he held it in his hands. As far as he knew, it magically appeared there.

And like before, his body moved without his permission and he opened the letter.

K's ordinarily fluid and effortless handwriting looked oddly stilted and forced. He could see where her pen scratched or hesitated, where she shook to the point a sloping line was actually crooked or wonky. Small flecks of water had clearly dropped onto the paper as well, bleeding some of the ink and staining the page. Tears.

Klaus felt his body begin to tremble as he forced himself to absorb the words she left behind.

 _Nik,_

 _I am so sorry. This letter could be a thousand pages long and still not come close to being enough to explain how sorry I am, how much I love you, how thankful I am, or how much I'm going to miss all of you, so perhaps brevity is my friend._

 _I know you're angry, Nik. I know that if you are actually reading this and didn't pitch it into the trash without bothering, that you're mad and probably want to hurt someone or something and you probably hate me too, but don't. Don't destroy everything you've been building for the last month. Don't lash out and revert back to the way you used to be. Don't hate me._

 _Hope needs you more than she needs me, so be there for her. Be kinder, for her. Be better, for her. Be everything I know you can be, for her._

 _I'll find you again, someday. It might take another nine-hundred years, but I'll find you again. I promise. I love you, Nik and please take care of Hope._

 _Forever Yours,_

 _Kali Mikaelson_

The ache in his chest doubled –tripled- to the point he wanted to be physically ill. Nine hundred years… he didn't want to wait nine hundred years to see her again. Their separation had been torturous when he thought she was dead. He didn't want to even contemplate how much worse it would be knowing she's alive and hiding from him.

Klaus had fallen onto his bed. His elbows rested on his knees while he buried his face in his hands. The letter had long since glided to the floor as he struggled to breathe. He knew this would happen if he read the letter -that the floodgates would open- but he'd done it anyway and it did exactly what he knew it would. It made him miss her more than he thought possible, made him want to forgive her, and love her even more for giving him his daughter.

Her scribbled words gave his armor a thin crack, more than enough for him to see reason through it. If she hadn't taken his place, he'd never see Hope again. K gave him that, gave him the chance at a life he never thought he'd get, but she left him divided. Half of him -half of his heart and his very being- would always belong to the girl from Thrace, and it disappeared when she did leaving him feeling barely alive.

He trembled as he felt his control slip away with each tear that fell from his chin.

~!~

HAYLEY

Hayley couldn't put into words how she felt. The Mikaelsons had been awake for a month, a single goddamn month, and the world imploded. The last five years spent searching for their cures, bartering with witches -the countless hours scouring the world for the different werewolf lines- meant nothing in the end. In one month, Elijah was gone. In one month, Rebekah and Kol were gone. In one month, Kali was gone. How could everything have gone to hell so fast? It was a record, even for the Mikaelsons.

The compound fell silent after Klaus' tirade ended hours ago. None of the women were shocked to see the destruction when they returned, but they said nothing about it. They understood completely, even Keelin.

Hayley was sitting in bed, leaning against her headboard cradling a sleeping Hope to her side. She had been staring off into nothingness as she replayed everything surrounding her. Everything was different now, and now, Hope noticed. She wasn't a toddler anymore, too young to know what was happening around her. She was old enough to understand and it broke Hayley's heart.

The little one had only just gone to sleep about an hour ago. She'd been crying off and on all day, ever since waking and watching her family break apart. Hope had screamed, cried, yelled and done everything a seven-year-old would do when her world shattered and it broke Hayley's heart. How could she help? How was she supposed to take this away? She couldn't.

Hayley hurt, too, more than she could put into words. She should have told Elijah how she felt. She should have made things better after the Red Door. She should have told him how much she didn't want him to do this. And now, she had to comfort Hope. Now, K wasn't there to help her.

While Hayley was grateful for what K did –so happy Hope had her father- it wasn't the same. During the past five years, both young women had become more than friends. They were partners, compatriots. They were parents. They relied on each other more than friends would. While the Mikaelsons slept, she and K became a family all their own, and now –like every family Hayley had before- they left her.

Tears gently trickled down Hayley's cheeks as she stared at the far wall. Her fingers still tenderly stroked Hope's hair, but her heart wasn't in the loving action. Her heart wasn't in anything at the moment. Eventually, she knew she'd recover, but not now. Still, tomorrow she'd put on her strong-mom-face and try to make everything okay for Hope. She'd do it tomorrow, the day after that, the day after that, and for however many more she needed to. But at night, Hayley was allowed to cry. At night, she could let the depression sink in.

~!~

KLAUS

 **Five Years Later:**

Klaus heard Hayley answer the door and as he entered the foyer, he saw what he already expected. Hayley was in the process of shifting from hugging Freya, to hugging Keelin. The blond looked up when she saw her brother and opened her arms, silently beckoning him forward. With a heavy step and practiced smile, he did. He hugged her tightly, warmly, and with the underlining realization that both of them still felt empty.

"Is she home yet?" Freya asked as they parted.

"No, not yet." Hayley replied. "Here,"

"Ah, thanks," Keelin sighed.

It had been raining and the drizzle remained when the two had arrived making shuffling everything into the entrance of the house tricky. Klaus stepped away and towards the living room with Freya behind him while Hayley helped Keeling bring in the rest of their stuff.

As he walked through the arch that led to the living room, Freya smiled. A large banner hung over the fireplace bearing a very simple message, _Happy Birthday Hope_. As much joy as it brought all of them to see the decorations, it hurt just as much. It was simply more proof that they were utterly and completely alone.

Klaus had poured himself a drink and another for Freya. He brought her out of her thoughts when he approached with it. She gave him a smile of thanks and watched as he fell into a nearby chair. Despite looking the same, Klaus acted as though his age had finally caught up with him.

"How are you, Niklaus?" she asked genuinely as she took a seat not far from him.

He said nothing at first, but she noticed what had become a nervous tick. Whenever forced to think about anything passed the here-and-now, Klaus would spin his wedding ring -the twisted nail he still wore even now.

"Have you heard from them?" he asked without bothering to answer her question. Freya expected nothing less.

"Rebekah's doing well." She replied. Being the intermediary for the family, she was the only one who knew how everyone was (aside from Elijah) and where they were. The latter she never shared. "And-"

"Hey, Klaus,"

Hayley's voice drew their attention. Klaus turned just as Hayley and Keelin joined the two in the living room. She had a mid-sized box in her hands. It was nondescript cardboard and thanks to Freya, bore no identifying marks. Every time he saw one it made his gut twist and churn. It made his body tense to the point of pain and filled him with so much dread he almost forgot how to breathe.

He knew what it was, as much as Hayley and the others did.

"It arrived two days ago." Freya muttered softly.

Klaus and Hayley stared at one another for a moment. When he said nothing and didn't reach for it –or move, in fact- Hayley took it upon herself to open the package.

Along with Keelin, Hayley stepped deeper into the living room. The wolf sat on the arm of Freya's chair and put her hand on her girlfriend's shoulder while Hayley set the package down on the coffee table between them all.

The room had become tense because everyone knew what the box meant.

Hayley jammed her thumbnail into the packing tape and it snapped easily. With only a few jerks of the adhesive strips, the flaps were soon left open and unsealed. She took a steadying breath and flipped them open to reveal packing peanuts and an envelope on top. Hayley set it to the side. Again, Hayley hesitated, but soon dove into the box and retrieved the pieces within.

The first item she pulled out was large rectangle about three inches thick wrapped in brown paper and tied with decorative string. A small tag hanging from the bow bore Hope's name. Hayley set it aside and dipped into the box again. Next came a smaller box, roughly the size of a deck of playing cards, but a bit thicker. It was wrapped the same and again had Hope's name on it. Hayley felt her heartbeat quicken as she searched the peanuts again.

After a moment of searching and sure she hadn't missed anything, Hayley set the box on the floor by the coffee table and picked up the envelope. It was a little heavy –which she thought odd- but since it bore no one's name, she opened it. Inside there was a disk, a birthday card envelope and two smaller ones.

Klaus hadn't moved since the box appeared. He'd been leaning against the arm of his chair with his elbow propped on it and his lips buried in his fingertips as he watched the contents revealed. When the smaller envelopes toppled from the bigger one and he saw his name scrawled across the surface, he felt his gut turned.

It wasn't until he was offered the envelope that he finally snapped into reality. Silently, he took the piece of paper and felt the weight of it. While it obviously held nothing of substance in the tangible world, he felt the sadness of it, the desperation and pain. It might as well have weighed a thousand pounds as far as he was concerned.

He felt the eyes on him and when he glanced up through his lashes, he decided to simply remove himself from the situation. Without a word, Klaus stood and disappeared into the back. He slipped easily into his room and closed the door behind him. He wasn't entirely certain what to do and because he felt so strangely lost, his eyes drifted to the surrounding artwork.

His bedroom was lined with paintings, either hanging or leaning against the wall. A large table held paint, brushes, pencils and pens and so many scrap pieces of paper he lost count. He felt better surrounded by his work ever since he, Hayley and Hope had begun their domestic life. It was the only thing that helped clear his ever-turbulent mind.

His eyes drifted to the envelope in his hands. Rage, curiosity and fear swam within him to an uncontrollable degree. He wasn't sure what to do, or if he could do anything at all.

" _Klaus!"_

Hayley calling his name emphatically from the other room forced the hybrid out of his thoughts. He tossed the letter onto the nearest surface and returned to the living room. Hayley's worried glance met him when he reached the arch.

" _Hi,"_ a familiar voice chimed.

Klaus' attention shot to the television and he felt his heart torn out. K stared back at him through the pixelated surface of the expensive piece of technology.

Air rushed from his lungs as he stared at the phantom image of a woman he hadn't seen in years. She was sitting in a chair, leaned forward towards the camera with her elbows gently resting on her knees and her hands clasped together. A soft, sad smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she stared at him with those kind, warm and familiar green eyes.

~!~

HAYLEY

 **Five Years Later:**

Hayley was in the middle of making preparations for Hope's birthday party. It was a small affair that was more or less just for family. Despite living in Mystic Falls for as long as they had, most hadn't warmed to Klaus and his erratic behavior didn't help things, so this party was just for them. Then, he'd disappear once more and Hope's friends would come over.

As she hung the banner over the fireplace, Hayley couldn't help but feel like this was supposed to be the year everything was magically fixed. It only took five years for them to find everything for the Mikaelsons the first time, so why would now be any different?

Because none of them knew how to face the issue.

The fact that they had no idea how to deal with The Hollow's remnants hidden within their family was always hovering overhead, but no one knew what to do. It took everything just to break the spirit into four pieces to banish it, and it had to go into the most powerful creatures in the world, so what now? What the hell were they supposed to do with it now? If they pulled it out, where would she go?

Hayley sighed as she fastened the last corner of the banner and stepped down off her stepstool. As she picked it up to set it aside, she heard something in the distance. Glancing through the open windows, Hayley saw the approaching car through the rain and knew Freya and Keelin were here. She went to get Klaus.

His room was downstairs and tucked in the back corner of the house where he could be far away from everyone. It wasn't that he'd become distant, but… no, he'd become distant. He still showered Hope with love and attention, but the moment she was out of sight, he sank into the darkness hidden just beneath the surface. His eyes would cloud and Hayley could see him move to the edge of the cliff, teeter on the crumbling surface. She could see him toe the line between sanity and the man he used to be.

She wrapped her knuckles tenderly against the door before opening it a crack. He was at his easel, standing in near profile to the door with his shoulders visible to her. He didn't even bother glancing over his shoulder as he worked. Hayley's eyes drifted to his current project and her heart sank. Like most of his work, this particular picture revolved around one subject: Kali.

This time, he chose charcoal. K was in three-quarter profile, looking back over her shoulder coyly. Her hair was swept to the side in waves leaving her shoulder bare and darkening the background in the process. It was a beautiful drawing that illustrated Klaus' talent, but it was heartbreaking because she was the subject of most of his projects. And this one would probably share a similar fate: destruction.

"Freya and Keelin are here." Hayley said before ducking back out of the room and closing the door behind her.

She headed for the foyer roughly the same time there was a knock on the door and answered it. There were hugs, greetings and when Freya and Klaus disappeared, Hayley helped Keelin bring the gifts for Hope into the house. She felt her stomach knot when she saw the brown box. Keelin nodded apprehensively because they all knew what it meant.

A few minutes later, Hayley finally opened the package and retrieved Hope's birthday presents like she did every other time one of those boxes appeared via Freya. They never came to the house, only ever the witch. K would send Freya gifts, letters, what-have-you, and Freya would in turn remove every identifying mark and either send or take them to Klaus and Hayley. Neither party knew where the other lived, and that was the point.

Klaus disappeared not long after taking his letter which didn't surprise anyone. Instead of speaking on it, or asking him to come back, they turned their attention to the strange disk that had been included. K had never sent anything like that before, so –being curious- Hayley slipped it into the BluRay player. To their combined shock, K appeared. She smiled heavily to the camera and before she could do anything, Hayley called out.

"Klaus!"

Freya had the remote and pushed pause until the hybrid appeared in the archway that led to the living room. When she saw him, the blonde pushed play.

" _Hi,"_ K greeted heavily.

Hayley saw a visible shudder tear through Klaus' body as he stared at the woman none of them had seen in years.

Seeing his reaction, Freya paused the video once more. Klaus hadn't taken his eyes from the screen, even as they turned glassy. His expression was indecipherable, so no one knew how to proceed.

"Would you like me to press play again?" Freya asked after minutes of silence.

"Yeah," Hayley gave a soft nod. Klaus still hadn't moved and she wasn't entirely certain he could. "Go ahead."

Freya nodded uncertainly and pressed play, letting the video continue.

" _I um…"_ K almost stammered the words. " _I'm not entirely certain how to go about this, honestly. I've never been one for home movies, so forgive me if this is as strange to watch as it was to film."_ A light laugh left her lips on a breath.

Her voice was different than it used to be, laced with a soft English lilt that hadn't been there five years ago. It suited her in a strange way, but it was just further proof to how long it had been since anyone had heard her voice. Not even Freya had spoken to K. Their correspondence was nothing more than mail.

" _And I don't know who's watching this, but I want you to know, I miss you. All of you, even Kol, sometimes."_ She let out another tiny laugh. _"I haven't the faintest idea why, but there you go. And Hope,"_ K tenderly bit her bottom lip and shook her head as she stared into the camera with both supreme sadness and reverence. " _Happy Birthday, sweetheart. You're twelve now… that's,"_ she shrugged and ran her fingers nervously through her hair. " _It seems impossible. I wish I knew what you looked like now, even just a picture. I'm sure you're so big, probably beautiful, too."_ She smiled softly again and the others could see her eyes were beginning to gloss. _"I should probably explain, I suppose. I'm not certain you even remember me at this point, it's been so long."_

Whether they meant to or not, most watching felt a stab in their chests at that particular phrase. It was heartbreaking, but the truth. K had almost been gone half of Hope's life. That's a long time, but they knew Hope knew K. Hayley made sure the little girl knew all of her family, but the fact that K thought Hope might have forgotten her was painful.

Hayley felt tears gather and was relieved to notice the others were the same. At least she wasn't alone.

" _I used to take care of you, sweetheart and I loved it."_ K forced another heavy smile, but it was tainted by the soft trail of barely-visible tears that were now gliding down her cheeks. " _I miss you, so much. Not a day goes by I don't think about you. I just want you to know that."_

She hesitated for a moment or two as she gathered her breath. K was near crying outright, and they could hear it in her voice, so she took a moment to compose herself before looking back into the camera again.

" _I don't know if or when I'll be able to see you again, darling, so it's time for me to impart some wisdom since you're practically an adult now."_ She smiled. " _Live for today, love as often as you can, forgive as much as possible and cherish the people around you. Life can be fleeting, so be as happy as you can, for as long as you can. Don't let what this life can do pull at you."_ Another trail of tears glistened on her cheeks. " _Happy Birthday, Hope. I love you. All of you."_

K picked up a small black object, aimed it at the camera, and a moment later the video ended.

The room had gone silent.


	24. Chapter 24

**AN:** Hey guys! Look, I know the last chapter was depressing and this one's kinda sad too (hard not for them to be, honestly) but the one after this is better! Promise! I was actually smiling by the end of writing it because I'm pretty sure what a bunch of the comments will be. So, to hurry up and get closer to Chapter 25 -the more lighthearted so far?- I've decided to post this now. I do hope you guys let me know what you think. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 24**

No one spoke. No one moved.

Minutes passed and none of them were entirely certain how to proceed. Keelin was the only one with a remotely clear head and when her eyes traveled to those gathered, she could see the heartbreak –even if she couldn't already taste it in the air. While she barely got to know K after finding her way into the Mikaelson-mix, Keelin at least knew she was a kind person. During their brief interactions, K was always respectful, which was more than even Freya could claim when the wolf first met the witch.

But it was the way the family reacted once she was gone that let Keelin know how much K must have meant to them. Granted it was nearly lost in the fray, nearly consumed by the sadness they felt at losing their siblings, but the fact that the murderous family felt anything even remotely similar to an outsider spoke volumes. And poor Hope, that little girl loved the vampire.

The air became stifling to the point Klaus had to remove himself from it again. Without a word, he disappeared and like before, no one bothered stopping him. Freya turned her attention to Hayley. The hybrid's eyes were glassy, but she seemed willing to push past it. Clearing her throat, she took the envelope with her name and opened it to reveal the letter within.

"What'd she say?" Freya bravely asked after Hayley read it for a moment.

"Uh," Hayley cleared the lump in her throat so she could speak, "She said she hope's we're doing okay. She asked how Hope is doing. The basics."

Freya could tell Hayley was trying to downplay whatever was in the letter, and she decided not to press.

"Hey, Freya," Hayley asked. The blonde nodded. "Do you still have her address?"

Freya's expression darkened sadly. "Hayley, I-"

"No," she said quickly. "No, I don't want it, but… if I gave you something to send to her, could you?"

A kind, sweet smile touched her lips as she nodded, "Of course."

Inside his bedroom, as far removed from the situation as he could be, Klaus found himself staring at the envelope bearing his name. Over the last five years when a brown box would appear with presents for Hope -every once and a while- there would be a letter for him or Hayley inside -usually both. But there was never a video. Not once had she sent something like that and it threw him.

He wasn't certain he wanted to open the letter. Like before, he didn't want to give her the chance to calm his mind, to remind him how much he loved her, or how much he still missed her. In many ways, he didn't think she had the right. But, as every time before, he found himself opening it regardless.

What was inside wasn't a letter. Instead, it was a picture, but it was no less heartbreaking. The photo was of him and Kali together, smiling sweetly at one another with their foreheads almost close enough to touch. It was the closest thing to a wedding picture they had, a moment that captured him at his happiest and ripped his heart into more pieces than there were stars in the sky. On the back was one simple phrase – _please don't forget me._

~!~

Hope was overjoyed to see her Aunt Freya and Keelin when she got home from school. She hugged them, smiled, laughed and ate plenty of cake. It was fun and when the presents came, she was overjoyed.

They got her everything they thought she'd want and she couldn't be happier. As much as she knew there were people missing, Hope had grown to learn to love individual moments like the one she found herself in. She learned to enjoy the time with family she had because she didn't know how long it'd last.

"And here's these two," Hayley said as she handed Hope the two brown paper presents with packing twine wrapped around them. Hope knew immediately who they were from because K always wrapped her gifts the same way.

"Are these from Kali?" she asked despite knowing they were.

"Yeah, sweetie." Hayley nodded.

Hope used to be incredibly apprehensive when opening presents from K because it was just more proof that she wasn't there, but as the young witch's determination to save her family grew, so did her appreciation for whatever her other mother sent her.

She untied the thread and tore through the brown paper of the massive rectangle. It was a book, black leather, thick and simple in appearance. It was larger than the size of a piece of printer paper and flexible, lacking a firm outer shell as a cover. Hope's brows came together curiously as she opened it, thumbing through the parchment pages only to find them blank. When she reached the front, however, she noticed a piece of paper slipped just within the crease of the cover. It was a note from K.

"What's it say?" Freya asked.

"Hope," the birthday girl read, "When the Bennett witches turned twelve, they each got their first grimoire, completely blank so they can fill it with their own spells. I hope it serves you well. Kali."

There were kind smiles from the women in the room, while Klaus remained in the background, silent and brooding. Hope set the massive book aside -excited to fill it- and reached for the second box. She opened it easily and revealed a ring nestled inside with another note.

The ring was simple in design -a thin, silver band with a small blue gem in the center. It was beautiful in its simplicity and filled Hope with warmth that surprised her. She took the note and read it aloud just as she had the first.

"The gem is tanzanite, cut from a necklace I've had for a thousand years." She read. "The ring may be a bit big for a little while, but keep it with you. It'll protect you, just like it's protected me. Kali."

The ring was a little big for her finger, but Hope didn't hesitate to slip it onto the chain of her necklace, the necklace Rebekah left for her.

~!~

When the night wound down, Hope got ready for bed. She set her presents on her dresser and closed the door behind her to be alone. As she looked around, she saw proof of the life she used to have everywhere, intermingling with the one she had now.

As she took her seat on the foot of her bed, her focus wandered to pictures hanging on the walls and dotting the bookshelves that surrounded her. It was all her family, those with her and those who'd disappeared.

Hope didn't blame them for leaving. Hayley told her the truth a long time ago, told her that it wasn't on purpose and that they didn't choose to leave. She told Hope that they loved her so much and it was to keep her safe.

It hurt for a long while and still did when she dwelled on it. On some level, Hope still blamed herself. If The Hollow hadn't wanted her so badly, her family wouldn't have had to be possessed by the spirit and thrown to the four corners of the globe.

But Hayley kept their memories alive. Now, Hope had faces to go with names, memories and situations unlike before. Unfortunately, despite the pictures everywhere and the stories she was told, little things still slipped away through the years. It started small. At first, Hope forgot what it felt like to hug them. She forgot how it felt to be surrounded by the people she loved and who loved her. And the most painful loss was their voices. She used to be able to remember exactly what each of her uncles, aunt and her mom sounded like, but eventually it shifted into a voice she created in her own head and it was never more obvious than when she watched K's video.

Five years was too long and while it hurt to know she may never see Elijah, Kol or Rebekah again, the one that hurt the most was K. Hope remembered talking to her briefly after waking from the spell and screaming for her mother for so long her throat went hoarse. She was inconsolable for hours after that. K had been there for as long as Hope could remember and in a breath, she was gone.

As she fell deeper into her thoughts, there was a knock at her door.

"Come in," she called halfheartedly. When the door opened, she saw Klaus and forced a heavy smile. "Hey, dad."

"Hello, sweetheart," Klaus replied as he stepped into her room. "May I join you?" Hope nodded and scooted to the side so he could sit beside her. "I'd like to speak with you for a moment."

"About what?"

"I'm going to have to leave for a little while." He told her. Hope's brows came together. "But I'll be home before you know it."

"How long?"

"Two weeks," he lied. Honestly, Klaus didn't know how long he'd be gone, but he knew it would be at least two weeks. He hoped he'd be back roughly that time, however, but there were a thousand unknowns that always followed the family.

"Where are you going?"

A soft, kindhearted but sad smile touched his lips. She'd seen it a thousand times when Klaus was trying to make her feel better.

"I just need some time, sweetheart." He said as he reached for her hand. Hope let him hold it softly in his. "Is that alright with you?"

He always asked before he left and while she liked the fact that he wanted her permission for something he clearly wanted to do, Hope would never tell him no. More than once through the years, Klaus had to take some time to himself. It usually happened when something triggered his memories of the family they'd lost. Hayley once explained it to Hope, telling her that Klaus simply wasn't good at being sad and when he went silent and began to brood, he'd have to leave for a couple of days to decompress. Hayley said it was a hybrid-Mikaelson-Klaus thing that she'd understand when she was older.

"Of course," she nodded.

Klaus' smile turned genuine and relieved. As he looked over his daughter, amazed with how big she's grown through the years, he noticed the ring hanging from her necklace. Tenderly reaching forward, he held it up.

"Did she really have this for a thousand years?" Hope asked.

"Yes," he nodded as he let it fall back to her chest. "Vampires need daylight talismans." He explained. Hope nodded. "When your mother turned," Klaus still referred to K as Hope's mother, no matter the time that lapsed. "Theana Bennett charmed a piece of tanzanite to protect her from the sun. She wore it as a necklace. This is a piece of that necklace."

Hope held the ring in her hand, gliding it lazily along the chain as she thought.

"So," she muttered, "It's like she's still here, protecting me."

The smile that formed on Klaus' lips physically hurt, weighed down by the ache he felt in his chest, but it was no less real.

"That's a wonderful way to look at it, darling." He told her kindly.

With another soft smile of her own, she nodded again. Klaus told her goodnight, kissed her on the forehead and left her for the evening.

Hope proceeded to get ready for bed. She changed into her pajamas and tossed her stuffed animal collection from her bed into a nearby chair so she could get under the blankets, but there was always one she kept. It didn't matter how old she got, that one was always with her.

Sinking into the plush blankets and mattress, Hope hugged the little white and grey wolf that had already been stitched up more than once through the years. She loved it more than anything.

One day, she'd bring her family back. She'd save them because they needed her and that's what family does.

Always and forever.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN:** Hi! Okay, so this chapters a little graphic for a couple reasons -blood, violence, etc- but I hope you like it. I'm really, _really_ hoping I can keep this story going on this track, but it'll be tricky without knowing what season 5 holds. Let me know what you guys think, suggestions, and -as always- Enjoy!

 **Chapter 25**

Recording that video nearly killed her. It took K far longer than it should have to even gain the courage to do it and when she did, she almost couldn't survive the two or so minutes she spoke. If she wasn't so desperate for Hope to remember her, she never would have bothered, but K knew what it was like to be forgotten.

The salty, cold air coming from the Thames wrapped securely around her body, but she barely felt it. Instead, she took another long pull of her bourbon and went back to aimlessly staring at all of Lambeth at her feet. She'd been living at the Kestrel House for almost a year and while it was beautiful and lavish and everything people would love to have in their lives, it felt cold to her. Empty.

But as she sat there watching the sun set and the lights of the city begin to spring to life, she knew she had to leave. She couldn't be there anymore, be still anymore. K had to act because the feelings were returning, the pain and ache that always followed her. She felt the rage slowly nipping at its heels. Along with the heartache always came the anger.

K downed the rest of her drink as she stood. She stepped inside and dressed for the night. She needed to hunt, to fight. She needed an outlet for the rage because the Ripper wanted to play and she didn't have the strength or desire to keep it at bay.

~!~

Gangs of vampires roam most major cities and it's easy to see why. Places like New York, Las Vegas, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and a number of others thrived on tourists and because their population was so large, deaths went primarily unnoticed. Places like this meant vampires could hunt, could roam through the night without being seen because most in the world didn't own daylight talismans -a fact easily forgotten around the Mikaelsons. Small groups of the vicious hunters could remain under the radar and feed to their heart's content, and London was no different.

The roaming gangs generally consisted of younger vampires, of those less than a century old or some who simply never grew out of the phase. Either way, there were plenty for her to fight and fight she did.

K was vicious. She attacked the group like a rabid animal –nothing but gnashing teeth and dangerous claws. She tore bodies apart because she delighted in the sound of their flesh and muscle tearing and she bathed in their screams and blood. It was joy to her, the only bit of happiness she'd felt since leaving New Orleans. And it was only better when they ran.

K raced through the darkened streets after the straggler who tried to escape with a smile on her blood-stained lips. She could smell his fear, taste it as easily as the copper blood of his friends and she found him easily as a result.

When she rounded another corner, she didn't hesitate to literally leap onto his back and sink her teeth into his shoulder. He screamed but the sound was cut short. K attacked him like a lioness taking down a zebra and he shared the same fate.

A few seconds after hunting down her prey and killing it, K stood. She ran her blood-covered fingers through her hair, forcing her locks into tendrils as a result. Left standing in a sea of body parts and finally with a moment to herself, the pain returned and with a sigh, she headed home once again.

Hunting was a Band-Aid, she knew it, but a Band-Aid she sought time and time again. Besides, it wasn't as though she was killing people. No one cared what happened to vampires.

~!~

Home again, K knew there was no way she could enter the building given the way she looked. There was barely an inch of her that wasn't crimson and that tended to draw a few eyes. Given the sheer size of her building and the number of people she would have had to compel to ignore anything 'odd' (like a bloody woman) it simply wasn't worth the effort. Instead, when she lost control like she had that night, K scaled the building, leaping from balcony to balcony until she reached her own.

When her feet landed on her balcony, K let out a soft sigh. She had to shower before the blood began to dry and chip.

As she walked through her balcony doors, K noticed something felt wrong. The air inside her apartment was different and she wasn't certain why. Her eyes narrowed as she looked around. Nothing seemed out of place as she took slow, measured steps through the floor plan, but something was definitely wrong.

The longer she searched her apartment, the more K began to wonder if she wasn't simply high on adrenaline still. Confused and a little annoyed, K headed back into her living room and suddenly froze. Standing in front of the wall-length windows, peering out onto the illuminated city below and barely visible in the dimply lit apartment, stood a figure. Someone had broken into her apartment and she was utterly terrified because she knew who it was.

"Nik," the name left her lips on a breath.

The man cast in black shadow turned. K felt her eyes burn and tears came without warning, gliding down her cheeks the instant she tried to blink her blurry vision away.

Klaus stood with his back to the city as he stared at her. Because her walls were more glass than anything, her apartment was constantly cast in a soft, golden glow so he saw her as clearly as if it were mid-day.

K was wearing jeans, a simple gray shirt and shoes, but she looked as though she'd survived a deadly car wreck. Splashes of blood stained her thighs and calves. Her arms were crimson from her fingertips to her biceps and everything from her chin down was painted red. Even her hair was slicked back with the live-giving liquid. She looked like Carrie at her prom, and he couldn't care less. In fact, all he saw were her brilliant, unnaturally beautiful green eyes.

He'd watched her that night, followed her through the streets and saw her viciously attack the vampires. He saw her revel in it, laugh and fight like a woman possessed and he saw the heartache take over the moment she was done. He saw himself in the entire ordeal and that terrified him.

Seconds passed without a word spoken beyond Klaus' name and K wasn't certain she could stand it. She felt as though she may choke on the air itself. He kept his face emotionless, but she could see the anger lingering just beneath the surface.

Without warning, Klaus shot forward. K barely had a chance to register the action before she was slammed against the wall just to her left. She let out a subdued groan as the drywall crumbled around her. And when she opened her eyes, she saw Klaus staring down at her with his body pressed firmly against hers.

His stare was so intense it frightened her. K knew there was a chance he'd be furious with her if they ever crossed paths again, that he wouldn't forgive her for what she'd done, but she was so relieved to see him, she didn't care. He could scream, yell, throw her through a wall –she didn't care. It was no worse than what she'd already put herself through in the years since leaving.

But as she stared into his fathomless eyes, his expression changed drastically. Klaus' brows relaxed and the tight line to his jaw followed suit. K opened her mouth to speak, but he denied her the chance. Klaus closed the distance between them and let his forehead fall against hers. K's eyes drifted shut with a sigh.

"I hate you," he breathed, "so much."

K felt his words vibrate through her despite their low volume. She missed the way he spoke, his accent and the tone of his voice, but his words weren't lost on her, either.

"I know," she replied in the same broken voice.

Just as suddenly as he'd moved before, Klaus dipped forward and kissed her. K immediately molded against him when she felt his lips pressed to hers. She returned the sentiment happily, greedily, because she swore it was about to end. She knew that at any second, she'd wake from the dream surrounding her.

He attacked her lips, nipped at them and sucked the blood from her skin as he moved hungrily down her throat. K held him close, threaded her fingers through his hair and refused to let him go. Klaus lifted her into the air, guided her legs around his waist and slammed her into the wall again. The sound that left her lips held no pain.

The sound of tearing fabric filled the air. Klaus had taken hold of everything she wore –her shirt, her jeans, anything- and tore them from her body. He was frantic to feel her skin against his and the clothing between them only served to keep them apart. But his wardrobe wasn't spared, either. K took hold of the back of his shirt and ripped it away, splitting it down the middle and shredding the expensive garment in seconds.

K cried out when she felt Klaus thrust into her. Her fingers bit angrily into his shoulders as he began to move. Her head fell back and breath was stolen from her as Klaus began his almost brutal assault against her. K was left swimming, her mind clearing as she clung desperately to him. She couldn't put into words how much she missed him, how much she longed for him, and it was never more clear than now, when she finally had him again.

Within a few short minutes, K cried out another pleasure-filled sound again as he bit into her neck. Seconds later, she was pushed over the edge into euphoric oblivion, and Klaus followed suit shortly after. But it was only the beginning.

~!~

The two sat in K's bathtub, facing the large, wall-length windows that overlooked the city. The sun was beginning to rise, tinting the sky pink. It was a testament to how long they'd spent 'reacquainting' themselves with one another. Hours had passed before either of them wanted to unhook themselves from the other.

Klaus laid with his back against the porcelain with K's back to his chest. They stared silently through the windows while Klaus lazily ran his fingertips up and down the length of K's arm. The water was tinged from the blood he'd already cleaned from her skin.

"How did you find me, Nik?" K finally asked. It was the first either of them had spoken beyond cries of passion since he'd kissed her in the living room.

"I'm resourceful." He replied with a gruff voice. The sound of it still sent shudders down her spine –further proof to how long it had been since she'd heard it.

"Nik," she sighed, turning just enough to let her forehead fall against his cheek.

He let out a soft breath of his own, leaning into the action and letting his eyes drift shut. He missed her beyond words.

"Tell me the truth." She said.

With a deep breath, he replied, "I followed Freya home." He admitted reluctantly, "And saw the address."

She shook her head softly. "You can't do that." She told him. His arms fell from the edge of the bathtub and disappeared beneath the murky water, wrapping around her stomach and holding her close. "We can't know where the other is."

"Why?" his voice was terse. "What's the danger?"

K sighed heavily once again and buried her face in her hands as she fought tears. She felt Klaus tenderly gliding his thumb along her stomach and wanted to sink into the sensation, but she almost refused to.

"You know why." She said as she lowered her hands again. "It's easier this way."

"For whom?" he dared. "Name one person this benefits?"

She shot him a sideways glare in response. He knew why they had to stay apart, he just didn't care. He wanted to be greedy, to be selfish despite knowing that her disappearing was the best way to protect Hope. Klaus knew finding her was stupid. He knew that in doing so, he risked them revealing something they shouldn't, risked K finding out where Hope was and in turn, telling the monster inside her, but again, he didn't care.

Eventually, the pair relaxed once again and returned to looking through the windows. After a little while, K felt herself ask a question she didn't really want the answer to.

"Do you hate me," she asked softly, "For what I did?"

Klaus leaned forward, pressing his forehead to the crown of her head. His arms tightened around her.

"No," he whispered, "But I want to."

K slowly unthreaded his arms. She stood and for a moment, he thought she'd leave for what he said, but she didn't. Instead, she turned to face him, sitting once again and this time straddling his lap. K wrapped her arms around his shoulders and gently cradled the back of his head as she stared sadly at him.

"I had no choice." She told him with a pained expression. "She needed you more than she needed me. With your blood in my veins… you'd have done the same thing in my position."

"I know," he said. Klaus reached forward and moved a few tendrils of her hair out of the way. "And I would have, but allow me the chance to be petty."

A soft smile tugged at the corner of his full lips. It had been so long since she'd seen it that she felt her heart thunder a phantom cadence in her chest.

Klaus pulled her close and kissed her again, passionately and sweetly. K happily returned the sentiment.

"I love you," she whispered against his lips when they parted.

"I love you," the words sounded almost pained because they were. Love was a painful emotion filled with happiness as much as heartache and he felt more of the latter in his life.

She kissed him again, and like most times, the passion between them grew. Klaus trailed his hands up her back, holding her closely as he deepened the kiss. When she felt him go rigid, she rose on her knees and guided him inside her.

K let out a soft coo as she began to move against his lap. Her body was electrified like it always was when she was with Klaus. Every cell in her body, every fiber of her being craved Klaus and always would.

Her thrusts slowly began to increase, "Don't hate me," she whispered as her pace quickened.

"Never," he replied without hesitation. Klaus' fingers dug into her skin as he met her in stride. He felt his head clearing and his muscles beginning to tense in anticipation of their end.

K gripped the porcelain lip of the bathtub for leverage while Klaus held her hips to help. The water that surrounded them began to slosh around, breaking over the edge of the tub and saturating the bathroom floor, but neither cared. Neither even noticed.

As she neared her end again, K reached for Klaus and held him close, cradling his jaw as she pressed her forehead to his.

"Be mine," he had to force the words out because his mind was nearly blank.

"Always," she whimpered against his lips.

"And forever,"

Only a moment later, K was lost. Waves of ecstasy exploded within her, a feeling that only increased when Klaus bit into her chest. Filled with her completely, tasting it in her blood and feeling her tremble around him, Klaus soon shared the same fate.

Slowly, they returned to reality, breathing heavily as the world around them came back into focus.

"I don't want you to leave." She breathed as they held one another close.

Klaus tenderly nuzzled the nape of her neck, kissing her skin softly before biting her earlobe. "Ask me to stay, and I will." He replied.

K let out a gentle moan of approval when she heard his gravelly-spoken words. She wanted to ask him to stay, she wanted it more than anything, but she knew he meant what he said and while she loved him for it, that was the problem. He couldn't stay. He had a daughter to take care of.

"I know you would."

~!~

It took three days before either of them was willing to leave the apartment, three days before they let one another go or even step out of their sight. They were almost desperate for the other.

Eventually, they ventured out and while she almost didn't want to know the answer, K asked when he was leaving. He told her Hayley and Hope didn't expect him home until the following week. She let herself relax and enjoy the time they were finally allowed to have together.

Five years was too long and two weeks was too short. While he visited, K received a package from Hayley. The hybrid had never sent anything to her before and even though she was excited, it took more prompting from Klaus to open it than it should have. What lay inside made her cry torrents of tears, but her smile never faded.

There were dozens of pictures of Hope though the years, chronicling her life up until her latest birthday. There were letters Hope had written her, but Hayley hadn't sent because she never had an address or the courage to ask for one, and there was a blank disc. When K put it in her laptop, she was shocked to see Hope had filmed a message for her just as she did for the child.

Klaus held her while she watched. He felt her sadness and pride roll off her as she watched the video more than once, but the tears came anew as a result. K couldn't believe how big Hope was, how beautiful and incredibly well-adjusted. While it shattered her heart to see, it let K know she'd made the right decision in letting Klaus take her spot raising Hope. Clearly, having her father around benefitted the –nearly- young woman.

At the end of the two weeks, Klaus had to leave. He wanted desperately to stay, but his rational mind won-out for once. The trouble was, he snuck away in the middle of the night because he knew he wouldn't be able to say goodbye if she was awake. It was cowardly, but the best way for him to do it. Honestly, Klaus wasn't certain he could look into her eyes while she cried, even though he knew she'd understand.

When K woke that morning, she wasn't entirely surprised Klaus was gone. It hurt, yes, but she was glad he'd done it.

Lying on her back, K stared at her ceiling. The hollow feeling, the emptiness that she'd felt upon leaving New Orleans was slowly coming back and she hated it. Her only solace was that she had him for two weeks. For two weeks, Klaus was hers again without the threat of enemies hanging overhead. As sad as it was, those two weeks were almost as long as they had together once they rescued him from Marcel.

With a sigh, K readied herself for incalculable years without. As glad she was that he'd come to visit her, they couldn't repeat it. It'd be harder each time to say goodbye and they would have no choice, because the two of them would _always_ have to say goodbye. So long as The Hollow was locked away inside her, K would always have to keep her distance.

~!~

 **A month after Klaus' secret visit:**

The frantic letter Freya received from K still filled her with fear. It was the unknowns that terrified her. She didn't know what the vampire could want so desperately that she requested the witch's presence and it was scary.

Along with Keelin, the two entered the apartment building. Freya held Keelin's hand tightly in her own. The wolf felt for her. She wanted to console Freya, but had no idea how.

"And she didn't say anything?" she asked again.

"No," Freya shook her head. Keelin had as hard a time wrapping her head around the situation as Freya. "That's what frightens me. I've never seen Kali so worried, not unless someone was in danger."

"I'm sure everything's fine." Keelin wrapped both her hands around Freya's and held tight.

The blond forced a smile as best she could, but the wolf could still smell her fear.

The elevator finally reached K's floor and with guidance of the signs pointing to door numbers, they found K's house. Freya knocked heavily and almost before she stopped, the front door swung open revealing a frantic K.

"Come in, come in," she ushered them quickly inside as though a monster was about to leap out of the shadows.

"What's wrong?" Freya asked as she and Keelin were practically snatched out of the hall.

K didn't reply at first. Instead, she began pacing in the entryway. She hadn't bothered to hug her long-time friend, or really acknowledge that it had been years since seeing her. Instead, her eyes remained on the floor as she chewed anxiously at her thumbnail, doing her best to think of the words that wouldn't come.

"Kali," Freya stepped into her path, forcing the vampire to stop. She took hold of K's shoulders and squared herself. Her brows came together. "What's happening? You're scaring me."

K's face twisted sadly. "I'm sorry." She replied. "I'm so sorry, but I don't know what to do. I… I didn't know who else to call. You're the only one I trust with this."

"With what?" Freya snapped before she could stop herself. "What's going on?"

"I need a protection spell." K said. "I need you to protect someone from The Hollow's power. She can't infect them."

"Okay…" she muttered uncertainly. Freya's mind swam. She began to wonder if Vincent's spell was loosening and The Hollow was somehow ready to escape. "I think I can do that. It should be easy enough to make sure it can't infect someone else, but why? Is… is it resurfacing?"

"No," she shook her head. "No, that bitch is still locked safely inside."

Freya let out the first relieved breath she'd had since receiving K's letter. She glanced to Keelin who offered her a warm, reassuring smile.

"Okay," Freya sounded more confident than before. "Well, first thing's first, I need to know who you want me to protect. I'll need something of theirs –preferably blood, and then I should be able to construct a spell."

K nodded, but the action was rapid, stilted, like she was still anxious. Freya narrowed her eyes skeptically. K should be calming, not still on edge.

"Blood'll be simple enough, I think." K replied.

"Good," Freya nodded. "Now, who is it you want me to protect?"

K finally met Freya's gaze and the witch was surprised to see her eyes tinting pink. They were glassing over with the promise of tears and filled to the brim with the purest fear Freya had ever seen. The emotion would be painful enough to see from anyone, but seeing it from someone Freya knew to be resilient and strong brought her fear back.

And then K said something that made Freya's heart stop.

"My child," she whispered the words frightfully, as though it was the first time she'd said them out loud. Freya felt the blood drain from her face and she was lightheaded. "I'm pregnant."


	26. Chapter 26

**AN:** I am so overwhelmed and thankful for your comments, honestly. I'm so glad you guys are liking it so far. I hope I can keep it up when the new season airs, but we'll see. I wrote around Cami, so here's hoping. lol. So, here's the newest addition, and let me know what you guys think. As always, enjoy!

 **Chapter 26**

"What?" Freya and Keelin spoke at the same time.

K blinked the tears free. She stared back at them nearly trembling with fear as she nodded.

"I'm pregnant." She repeated in the same frightened way. "And I don't know what to do. This isn't supposed to be able to happen, but it's happening, and I don't have anyone to help me, and The Hollow's inside me," her words came out quivering and scattered, almost too fast for Freya or Keelin to understand, "And what if she infects the baby? What if she uses it as a way to get out? That could happen, right? I mean, why not? Everything else happens, so why not that, too?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Freya cooed softly as she approached K. She tenderly held the vampire's shoulders and felt her physically shaking. "Are you sure you're…" she almost couldn't say the word.

K nodded frantically. "There's a heartbeat. I can hear it, feel it. There's a heartbeat right here." She pressed her palm to her lower stomach, just beneath her belly button. "Keelin can probably hear it too, I bet."

Freya glanced over her shoulder at her girlfriend, "Keelin?"

The wolf nodded uncertainly. She took a deep breath and stepped forward. Keelin pressed her hearing –a gift she now had since Freya's ring helped her master her traits- and listened. She pushed past her own frantic heartbeat and that of Freya before hearing a soft, gentle sputter coming from the vampire.

"Holy shit," her face dropped and she stepped back, putting space between her and the situation.

"See!" K declared, pointing emphatically at the freaked out wolf. "This isn't right! You have to help me. I don't know what to do!"

"First," Freya said, "You need to calm down." K nodded repeatedly. She continued to shift on her feet, but took deep breaths, doing her best to calm. "Now, who's-" K immediately glared at the witch, cutting off her question quickly. Freya knew it was rude to ask who the father was, but as far as she knew, it had been years since K and Klaus had seen one another. "How is that possible?"

"He came to see me last month." She mumbled.

"How?" she couldn't remove the disbelief from her voice.

"He said he followed you home," K sighed, "And found my address."

Freya grumbled angrily to herself. Part of her expected Klaus to do something along those lines and while she was surprised it took five years, she was still disappointed by it.

"Okay," she finally said as she pressed her hand to her head. "I need to think."

K showed them to the living room where Freya and Keelin both sat, but K couldn't. She couldn't sit still and hadn't since she realized there was a heartbeat inside her body.

Keelin scooted closer to the witch, "Is something like this possible?" she asked under her breath. "I mean, she's a vampire."

"She was," Freya replied. Her eyes slowly traveled to the pacing young woman who could easily hear them, but instead seemed lost in her own thoughts. "We're not entirely sure what Kali is anymore."

"What does that mean?"

"It means," K said, "That for all intents and purposes, I'm barely a vampire."

"What?" Keelin asked.

"I'm part hybrid."

"How can that even happen?"

"Does it look like I have the answers?!" she snapped angrily. "That's why I called Freya, because I don't know what the hell is happening to me."

Keelin raised a single brow. "You should calm down."

"Calm down?" she hadn't. "Are you _kidding_ me? I am dead, Keelin." She took stilted steps towards the wolf, "I have not felt a heartbeat in my chest for a _millennia_. I am little more than a supernaturally reanimated corpse, and now I'm pregnant. Can you even wrap your head around how absolutely bat-shit crazy this is for me?"

A tense moment or two passed before Freya spoke.

"First things, first," she sighed, "We need to protect that child." K continued to pace, to shift nervously on her feet and take in one long breath after another. "I need some paper and a pen."

She didn't mean to, but when K retrieved the supplies, she ran. She'd darted off into the distance and was back within seconds. It didn't seem as though she had any control over her body.

"I'll need some supplies," Freya muttered as she began to write down what was essentially a shopping list.

K was still chewing on her thumbnail, tearing it raw and letting it heal again before repeating the harsh action. She couldn't stop. Her brain seemed incapable of anything but immense fear. None of this should've been happening. How in the name of all that is holy was she pregnant? Haley was a surprise, but sure. She was alive. Klaus might have been a hybrid, but they were both –technically- alive. She wasn't. K was dead –dead, dead, dead.

The heartbeat in her stomach made her feel queasy. It was so strange, so foreign, and it scared her beyond reason -to the point she couldn't even be happy she was getting something she'd always wanted. There was something alive inside of her and instead of being happy it was a child, it felt like an alien. Any moment, she expected the fetus to come bursting out of her chest glowing blue because The Hollow was using it as a vessel to escape. And then, the fetus would track down Kol, Rebekah and Elijah, kill them and assimilate the rest of The Hollow's power.

With a groan, K buried her face in her hands and sank into a nearby chair. She knew her theories were ludicrous, but then again, SO WAS A PREGNANT VAMPIRE!

Keelin had been watching K pace back and forth. Her eyes had been locked to the apparent mother-to-be, in fact, all the while she could hear the delicate heartbeat.

When she was finished with her list, Freya asked K where she could purchase anything she needed. She took Freya's phone and typed in the name of a shop she knew that sold curios the witch may need. K elected to stay behind. Relations between witches and vampires were tense no matter the country, so having her alongside Freya wasn't a good idea, nor was telling anyone she was a Mikaelson, which K said.

~!~

It took the day to gather everything for the spell Freya needed to protect the growing child. She wanted to make sure her niece/nephew would be as safe as possible. Since the fetus was too small to draw blood from (likely the size of a bean or so) Freya took a bit of K's blood. If anything, she hoped she could separate anything containing K's blood from the clear invader known as The Hollow. She truly prayed it was enough.

K laid down after giving Freya her blood, and things were done to her. She hated how powerless she felt and that even more magic had to be done to her, but she had no choice.

As Freya chanted, the candles burned and whatever she'd put in the bowl smoldered, she touched K's stomach. K stared at the ceiling and clenched her fists tightly, forcing herself to have faith in Freya's abilities.

Heat formed beneath the witch's hands, much more than K should have felt normally. Her brows came together as the heat increased to the point it was nearly a blaze. She sucked in a sharp hiss through her teeth and began to fidget beneath Freya's hand, but the witch never faltered, never hesitated to keep.

After a moment, the heat became too much and K had to struggle not to scream. It felt like Freya was burning her with a hot poker, jamming it ruthlessly into K's stomach, but just as suddenly as it began, everything stopped. The second the last syllable left Freya's lips, the heat stopped.

"There," the blond sighed as she removed her hand.

K quickly examined her stomach, swearing Freya burned her, but there was nothing. Her skin wasn't even red. K looked up to Freya and saw her smiling softly.

"Your baby's safe from anything The Hollow might try to do." She said as confidently as she could. In truth, Freya could do little more than pray her spell worked.

With a relieved sigh, K fell back onto the couch again. That was one thing she didn't have to worry about, but there were still many, many more.

~!~

K offered her place to the pair who was glad they didn't have to pay for a hotel and were honestly exhausted. They hadn't stopped moving since landing and now that the adrenaline and shock of what brought them to London was gone, they needed to sleep.

Freya was at first reluctant to take K's bed, but K didn't have a guest room and she hadn't been sleeping much since finding out she was pregnant. It took some convincing, but the blond finally agreed.

The two were sleeping in the other room while K sat on her balcony overlooking the city once again. She wanted so badly to grab something strongly alcoholic to drink, but she didn't. Instead, she drank water. Yay…

Her mind raced to the point of headache. So many things refused to be silent and it actually hurt. It actually caused her physical pain.

With a sigh, K stood and headed back inside. She was surprised to see Keelin grabbing a glass of water for herself. The wolf smiled kindly.

"Can't sleep?" she asked politely.

"No," K sighed softly.

Keelin looked over her for a moment. She could tell K was still unsettled.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know what to do." K said sadly. "I've never had a child before."

"Freya says you've taken care of dozens of kids, though."

"Taken care of, yes, but never bore." Her eyes welled with tears. "I have no idea how I'm supposed to handle any of this. Do I call Klaus and tell him? If I do, he'll come here and I can't let him leave Hope. But then what? Do I do this on my own? Do I have the child and then send it away to have you and Freya, or Hayley raise it? Can I even raise a child while this _thing_ is inside me? And what is it going to be? Is it going to be a witch like Hope? A werewolf? I have so much of Klaus in me that I'm not even a vampire anymore, so will this child even be part me, or will it be a clone of Nik?"

Keelin's brows came together as she watched a woman she knew to be strong crumble before her. K took in one shaking breath after another, blinking the tears out of her eyes and letting them fall.

"I am so unbelievably terrified that I've doomed this poor child who's done nothing but have the misfortune of being conceived." Her voice trembled. "And there's nothing I can do to save it."

Surprised in herself, Keeling stepped forward and wrapped her arms around K, pulling the distraught vampire into a hug and holding her tightly. K clung to her, clutching the wolf's shirt in her clenched fists and burying her face in Keelin's shoulder.

"It'll be okay," Keelin said softly. She tenderly stroked the back of K's head. "Freya's spell will keep it safe, isolated from The Hollow. After that, it's just one thing at a time, okay?" they slowly parted. Keelin forced a smile as she held K's jaw reassuringly. "Just one day at a time."

Slowly drawing in one quivering breath after another, K forced herself to calm and nod.

~!~

The following morning, K took Keelin and Freya to a nice little restaurant not far from her apartment building for breakfast. It wasn't as though she had food in the house, anyway. But as they sat in the crowd of people and the two with a pulse ate, K felt her stomach growl. It actually growled with hunger –something she hadn't felt for actual food in a long, long time.

"Can… can I try some of that?" K asked, eying Freya's omelet with a predatory glint.

"Uh," Freya was a little surprised, but nodded, "Yeah, of course."

K grabbed her fork and took a bite of the egg dish. She'd never tasted anything so delicious and immediately tried to take more. It wasn't until the third bite that Freya pulled her food away.

"Get your own," she laughed lightly. "Jesus."

K apologized. She didn't remember the last time food actually tasted like food and she felt ravenous as a result. Freya explained that it made sense. It wasn't as though the baby could survive on blood. It wasn't a vampire, after all, so what else was there but normal human food? As far as cravings went, that was perhaps the strangest for K.

After ordering her own omelet, bacon, ham and a few pastries and devouring them with relative ease, K finally calmed. For the first time in the ten minutes it took for her to clear her plates, Freya and Keelin weren't afraid they were going to lose a finger.

As she settled, K stared off into space twirling her fork between her fingers. Like every time before, her brain drifted to the quivering heartbeat inside her. It was still so new. And utterly distracting.

"Kali," Freya's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and drew her attention. "Are you okay?"

K scoffed under her breath. She was far from it, as far as she was concerned, but that wasn't what she was going to say. K knew Freya was well aware she was freaked out, but there was something she wanted to know, something that had been weighing on her.

"What do I do about Nik?"

Freya's shoulders slumped. "I don't know." She answered honestly.

Freya knew that telling her brother about the pregnancy would result in his coming back to London, thereby leaving his daughter, and it wasn't as though K could go to him. Then again, it wasn't as though K could _not_ tell Klaus about it.

"Thanks," K replied in a voice thick with derision. "So helpful."

~!~

Freya and Keelin remained for a couple of days and used the trip to London as a vacation now that they'd settled everything they needed to with K. The vampire was fine with it and let the happy couple come and go as they needed before taking them to the airport. She thanked Freya copiously for her help and begged her not to say anything to anyone until she knew what to she was going to do. Freya reluctantly agreed. She knew K would have no choice but to tell the family, but whether or not she did it before the baby was born was up for debate. Still, the witch felt it was K's decision and agreed to her terms.

Weeks passed and the heartbeat grew stronger, K's mind remained hectic and she had moved. After selling her apartment in London, K took up residence in a villa in Rome: Via de capo le Case. If there was anything she'd learned as of late, it was time with the Mikaelsons had made her realize how much she preferred the finer things in life.

K had moved initially so Klaus couldn't find her again, but that precaution lost a little something when she found herself contemplating calling him. She'd gotten his number from Freya and kept hold of it just in case. The trouble came with actually using it. She simply couldn't make herself dial the number no matter how much she wanted to. K still didn't think it was a good idea telling Klaus about her pregnancy at the moment. She was stuck in a weird vortex of selfish selflessness. She was selfishly keeping the truth to herself to selflessly let Klaus remain with Hope and the family he'd built over the past few years.

"Il tuo tè, signora."

Her waiter's voice snapped K out of her thoughts.

"Grazie." She replied with a smile.

He gave her a gentle nod and disappeared shortly after setting her tea on the table. K added just a touch of sugar (because now there were rules to what she ate and drank, apparently) and went back to staring at the beauty of the city older than she was. She hadn't been to Rome in centuries, not since the Renaissance, in fact. A lot had changed.

The same few questions continued to run through her mind. _Should I tell Klaus? How will he react? Can I raise a child? What if Freya's spell doesn't hold The Hollow at bay? What is this baby going to be? Who will raise it if I can't?_

Mothers-to-be were supposed to be worried about names, about baby-proofing their homes and whether or not they could save enough money for college. They most certainly weren't supposed to worry about whether or not their supernatural child was cursed with god-knows-what.

With a long sigh, K ran her fingers through her hair and lifted her tea cup to her lips. She sipped on the sweetened brew while she lazily watched tourists on mopeds speed by, a few honking their squeaking little horns.

~!~

 **Virginia:**

Klaus hadn't felt comfortable for months. He couldn't pinpoint the reason as to why, only that something was scratching at the back of his head. There was a strange, gnawing feeling that continued to haunt him ever since leaving K in London, and he didn't know what it was. Something felt different. Not _wrong_ necessarily, just different.

While dealing with The Hollow before she had to be broken up and shoved into his loved ones, Klaus wondered why he and K weren't connected like they once were. Freya suggested it was likely because The Hollow had severed the connection when she initially possessed Klaus. It would make sense that she didn't want the other vampire to know what was happening and somehow managed to break their link as a result, but Klaus –for the first time ever- wished he had it back. He wanted the connection to return, that link that told him exactly how and what K was feeling. Without it, he felt disturbingly alone.

But he was also smart enough to know that his strange apprehension and worry was likely longing. Klaus realized that the feelings coursing through him were likely him wanting nothing more than to reunite with K, that he just wanted to be with her again after so long apart.

Klaus leaned back in his seat, hidden away in his bedroom and staring at the picture K had sent him. He wanted to believe he simply missed her, but he didn't –not completely. Something still felt so strangely off and it bothered him.

~!~

 **Rome:**

K sat at what had become known as _her_ table at the bistro down the street from her villa. Everyday she'd come to the same little restaurant; order herself a bit of food and tea and people-watch for a while. It helped her forget sometimes, helped her ignore the insanity of her own life, but she knew the feelings were only going to get worse.

As she picked at her croissant, tearing a small piece off and eating it, she felt the air around her shift. It was an odd sensation given she was surrounded by people and outside, but she felt it nonetheless.

The prickle at the back of her neck forced her to turn and when she did, K was full of happiness and apprehension. Klaus stood a few yards behind her walking towards her table. When her eyes met his, he froze and K felt her heart wanting to thunder. She always loved him in black which made his outfit of dark-wash jeans and a black button-up shirt the perfect combination.

When he saw her, Klaus felt his step hesitate and a gentle smile tug at the corner of his lips. He slid his hands into his pockets and stood back, content to admire her at a distance. Her hair fluttered softly in the gentle breeze, her eyes sparkled and a soft smile lit up her face as she stared at him over her shoulder. He was so glad she'd called and told him where she was, so happy she wanted to see him again because he was more than willing to go through eternity without her at his side so long as he could see her every few months. Klaus needed K in his life in some capacity.

After a moment or two of staring at one another, K shifted in her seat. She pushed back and stood, ready to join him. Klaus let his feet close the distance between them as K turned around.

He suddenly froze. Klaus felt his body tense, his blood run cold and his head waver. The world around him was beginning to darken as his vision tunneled on K and the pronounced bump she now sported.

K saw his stunned expression and his eyes focus intently on her stomach. At just over three months pregnant, K's stomach was just beginning to press against her t-shirt. Instinctively, she gently cradled the growing mass.

"Nik," she said softly despite being nearly ten feet from him. Klaus' eyes shot to hers. "Say something."

He opened his mouth, but words couldn't come.


	27. Chapter 27

**AN:** Note at the end. Enjoy!

 **Chapter 27**

His mouth continued to gape, opening and closing repeatedly as he struggled to find the words. Klaus couldn't get his thoughts in order. They raged inside his head, bombarding him with images, scenarios and more questions than he thought physically capable of asking.

K wasn't offended by his lack of action. She'd gone through something similar when she found out and in truth, it hadn't much faded in the past few months. But still, she felt some kind of desire to help him. Slowly, K approached the nearly catatonic hybrid.

The closer she came, the lower his eyes traveled. Klaus stared at the innocuous bump barely pushing against her cotton tee. A part of him –that ridiculous, childish part- prayed she'd simply eaten an entire tour bus filled with travelers and she was sporting a vampire's version of a food baby, not the alternative.

When she closed the distance to the zombie, K slowly reached forward and took his hand. Her movements were so gradual -so measured- there was no way to frighten him beyond what he already was. K was smart enough to know she had to treat him like a frightened animal –prepared to lash out whether it meant to or not because it was afraid.

Tenderly holding his hand in hers, K pressed his open palm to her stomach. She softly rested her hands over his, cradling it to her bump.

A soft, almost inaudible gasp left his lips the instant he felt the gentle thrum of a heartbeat beneath his palm. Klaus' brows tugged together, his mouth continued to hang slack and his eyes were tinting pink. He didn't know how he had the strength to move, but after a moment, Klaus' second hand joined the first on her stomach.

Through K and through her clothing, he swore he could feel the heat of the child, feel its life-force as easily as the heartbeat.

"Say something, Nik." K said softly.

His eyes darted to hers once again and his brows twitched together, "How's this possible?" he asked without any tone but curious.

"I don't know," she told him honestly. "I guess I'm even less vampire than we initially thought."

"How long?"

"Sixteen weeks?" she shrugged. "I've only been counting since you last left."

Klaus felt himself nod as his eyes drifted back to the bump. He couldn't put into words the intense waves of emotions washing through him. He was both happy and terrified, but not the same as he'd been with Hayley's pregnancy. With her, it was the newness of it, the fact that he thought he couldn't have a child that frightened him.

Now, it was so much more. Klaus was utterly terrified when confronted with the past twelve years. He was terrified because of the Hollow, because of how they'd all changed through the years, and the life they now had. He was simply scared and it was almost enough to choke out any joy he felt.

Seeing all of the emotions swirling in his glistening eyes, K stepped forward the miniscule distance between them. She pressed her forehead to Klaus' and her body to his, forcing him to wrap his arms around the small of her back. He could feel the infant's heartbeat in his own stomach now that hers was against him.

Her brows came together and her eyes drifted shut. K fought tears she felt growing behind her lids.

"I'm so scared," she whispered.

A small, unnoticeable smile twitched briefly at the corner of his lips. He had to admit he was relieved she was as frightened as he seemed to be.

~!~

Back at her villa, Klaus poured himself another drink and had to fight the habit of pouring K one, too. As he took a substantial pull from the glass, the smell of food touched his nose. He gradually made his way to the kitchen to see what K was cooking.

K stood in front of the stove sautéing a wok filled with frozen stir-fry. Another pot of boiling water rested on a separate burner. He smiled lightly to himself at the strange display as he took a seat behind her at the island in the kitchen.

"Hungry?" he teased softly.

"Increasingly." She replied as she worked with the veggies and meat. "I've been craving Chinese food as of late, and I haven't the slightest idea why."

He chuckled to himself again, but more at her acquired accent. He rather liked the soft English lilt. It was less pronounced than his and more along the lines of the one Elijah bore periodically, but it suited her. It added a strange innocence to the dangerous woman.

"Any other strange cravings?" he inquired.

"No," she shook her head. Checking to ensure the food was fine for a moment, K turned to look at the man behind her. "Not other than eating human food, at least. It's been weeks since I've had blood and I keep waiting to feel weak because of it, but I don't. I don't even notice it, in fact."

"Hm," he muttered. "There isn't exactly precedence for something like this."

"I know," she sighed. K planted her hands on the kitchen island between them and let her head slump.

Since the bistro, Klaus had some time to think about the implications and now that they were safely at home without an audience to hear their strange conversation, he decided to speak on it.

"We need to call Freya," he said as K returned her attention to her food. She dropped a ball of rice noodles into the boiling water and turned off the burner to let it cook. "She should be able to help with-"

"I already called her." K said without looking back. "When I found out, I called her. She already worked a protection spell to keep the child safe from anything The Hollow might do to it."

Klaus wanted to be annoyed Freya knew about his child before he did, but he wasn't entirely surprised K took steps to ensure the infant's safety. Still, he was a bit insulted to be the second, if not third person to find out about his progeny.

"Who knows about this?" he asked.

She took a breath and sighed softly, "You, me, Freya and Keelin. No one else." She told him. "Then again, it's not as though I have people to tell."

 _Fair enough,_ he thought to himself. Klaus felt a twinge of sadness for her being so isolated.

K put the finishing touches on her meal in silence –adding the noodles to her wok, tossing it around a bit and adding it to a plate before she faced Klaus again. He looked at her blankly as she sat across from him at the island with her fork.

"What do we do now?" she asked as she poked at her steaming lunch.

"What do you mean?"

K arched a single brow. "What do we do now?" she repeated with a shrug. "How do we proceed now that there's a Mikaelson clone growing within me? You can't stay here."

"Excuse me?" he sounded almost offended.

"You have Hope," she said as though it should have been obvious. "You can't stay here indefinitely when you have your daughter –your life- in another country."

Klaus twitched again as though she'd only just made him realize something he should have known all along.

"I can't very well leave you here, alone and pregnant."

"Like I said, what do we do now?"

The room fell to silence while K picked lazily at her food. She felt as though she'd passed the torch. Now, the intense uncertainty, the migraine-inducing pain of constantly thinking about the next step was no longer her burden. It was Klaus', and that gave her brain a moment of peace.

K had made it half-way through her meal before she heard Klaus groan. She saw his frustration as he ran his fingers through his hair and met her gaze heavily.

"Must we decide anything now?"

"It depends on how long you plan to stay here." She told him honestly.

Klaus gave her a soft nod.

~!~

 **Virginia:**

Klaus felt heavy and retched for leaving Rome. He wanted to remain forever, but K wouldn't let him. He could tell she didn't want him to leave any more than he did, but again, it wasn't as though he had a choice.

He arrived mid-day after hours and hours of being in the air. He was tired, hungry and wanted nothing more than to silence his racing mind.

As he walked inside, Hayley emerged from the kitchen. She didn't seem amused to see him, but he didn't much care. Hayley hadn't been overly excited about his impromptu trip, though she expected him to leave given it was a request from K.

"What happened?" she asked. She hoped there was nothing wrong given K hadn't tried to call Klaus before.

He dropped his bags at the door and entered the living room, forcing Hayley to follow him with growing agitation.

"Well?" she pressed as he poured himself a drink.

Klaus filled his glass with scotch and raised it to his lips. "Kali's pregnant," he replied before taking a long sip.

Hayley felt something akin to shock ripple through her. Still relatively new to the world of vampire tendencies and having experienced her own strange happening, Hayley's first thought wasn't to the strangeness of the pregnancy. Instead, her concern was oddly mundane.

"Who's is it?"

Klaus turned and gave her a knowing glower.

"When the hell did you go to-" her words stopped abruptly. "That's where you went after Hope's birthday." He nodded. "And she's…" rationality began to return. "How? I mean… is that even possible? I thought… ya know, vampire."

"Clearly, it is because I can assure you, she is most definitely pregnant."

"Wow," Hayley mumbled as she slid into a nearby seat while Klaus took the couch. "What now?"

"I haven't the slightest idea." And he didn't. Despite being with K for a week, he'd never figured out how they were all meant to proceed.

"Well, is she going to raise it on her own? Is it safe? Is she going to come home, or move in with Freya or something? Is it going to be human, or like Hope?" Hayley asked the questions almost too fast for Klaus to listen. "Are you going to live with her now? What about Hope? You can't just leave, not now, but K shouldn't be on her own, either."

"Hayley!" he snapped. He wanted to save his headache from her increasingly onslaught of questions. "I. Don't. Know."

She glared at him, but it was the truth. Klaus simply didn't know.

Later that day when Hope returned from school, both Hayley and Klaus sat her down in the living room. She didn't like it. Hope was immediately put on end when her parents sequestered her like they were. It generally meant something bad had happened, but she was pleasantly surprised when they told her she was going to be a big sister. Hope had always wanted a sibling, but never thought she'd get one for obvious reasons. Clearly, she was wrong.

Hope had a thousand questions that –regrettably- the pair couldn't really answer. All they could tell her was K was pregnant. They didn't even know if she was having a boy or a girl. Hope was a bit frustrated with her parents, but part of her understood, too. She was old enough –smart enough- to see how confused they were about the whole thing. Still, she was going to be a big sister, and she loved that idea.

~!~

 **Rome:**

K was lying in her bathtub. She slumped low in the massive claw foot tub and let her ankles rest against its lip on either side of the silver faucet. Her eyes fell to her stomach. The bump was now pronounced enough that it broke the water's surface. It looked like an island –the lone thing in a sea.

She lifted her hand and let the droplets of water drip from her fingertips. They gently glided down the bump and for some reason, she found it hypnotic. K still had trouble wrapping her mind around the baby growing inside her, but that didn't make it any less real.

Eventually, K got out of the bath and as she dressed, she heard a knock at the door. Curiously, she answered it and was surprised to see the hybrid on her doorstep.

"Hi," Hayley smiled.

"H… hi." K muttered. She was stunned, but the joy of seeing her old friend was enough to bring her back into reality.

K quickly reached forward and hugged Hayley tightly. The hybrid returned the sentiment, but clearly felt the giant bulge between them. When they parted, she stared at it openly.

"Wow," she sighed with a nervous laugh. "That's… yeah. That's something."

"Shut up," K smiled. "Come on in."

She ushered her friend inside and brought her to the living room so they could catch up. As they spoke, Hayley found it hard not to look at the obvious baby bump.

K asked how everyone was, if Hope was in school and had friends. Hayley told her everything as vaguely as she could. She didn't tell K that Hope was going to a school for magically inclined kids like herself because she knew the vampire was smart enough to figure out where they were living if she did, but Hayley was open. She told K that yes, Hope was in school and doing well, that she had a bunch of friends and that she was learning how to control her magic. Hayley answered every question K could throw at her and when she was finally given the chance, she asked some of her own.

"So," she said with her eyes on K's stomach again. She could hear the baby's heartbeat as easily as anyone else. "How far along are you?"

"About six months." K replied. "Kind of guessing, but it should be about there."

"Have you gone to the doctor yet?"

K scoffed softly, "And tell him what when he starts asking questions? Besides, I don't really need a doctor for anything, anyway."

"Aren't you curious about what you're having?"

"I'm more curious about the _what_ than I should be, but the sex, no."

Hayley smiled softly. She understood. When she was pregnant with Hope, she wasn't sure if she was having a wolf, a witch, a vampire or a human, either.

"Oh!" Hayley suddenly chimed. "We might be able to find out ourselves, if you want." K eyed her curiously. "One of the witches did this thing with a pendulum. Want to try it?"

"Which witch?"

"The one Celeste possessed." Hayley replied. "Or… Celeste… I don't know which one, actually."

"The witch who orchestrated Hope's death?" K asked with a skeptically arched brow.

"Yeah, but she wasn't wrong. She said I was having a girl."

K thought about it for a moment before she shrugged a single shoulder. "Sure."

Hayley smiled. They didn't have a pendulum anywhere since neither were witches, but Hayley was wearing her necklace. Sliding it off, she held it so the pendant was caught on the clasp and created a pendulum.

"Lay down."

K sighed softly to herself, but couldn't fight the smile as she did as Hayley said. Lying down on her couch, Hayley gripped the edge of the coffee table and pulled it close so she could sit over K. With her necklace hanging from her hand, she held it over K's stomach.

A moment passed and then another and nothing happened, until finally, the piece began to shift. It moved without point or purpose, gliding from side to side and around before it seemed to find the slightest direction. It rocked from side to side in a straight line. K looked to Hayley.

"What does that mean?"

Hayley opened her mouth to speak, but again the necklace shifted just a bit. It didn't have the power behind it only a witch could give which meant its movements were almost imperceptible.

"I don't remember." Hayley admitted. "I think side to side is a girl, and around is a boy."

K cocked a brow at the hybrid. "I'm so glad we did this." She said with thick sarcasm. Hayley glowered back playfully. "Dork,"

Hayley stuck out her tongue and put her necklace back on while K sat up. Hayley would Google it later to find out the real meaning, but for the moment, she was glad to see her friend and more than willing to explore Rome while there.

 **AN:** Hey guys! I hope you liked it. I know it's pretty short, all things considered, but I'm kind of struggling to find the end game here. I don't really know where to stop it to end this book, so it's got me moving at a snail's pace. That, and I have a few other projects going on right now and this story isn't getting too much attention. I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm not certain when my next update will be, but I'll hopefully upload one or two more chapters before I bring this story to an end. Maybe stop it at an even 30? Again, hope you enjoyed and let me know what you think!


	28. Chapter 28

**AN:** Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long, but I had trouble deciding what to do and how to do it. I mean, I know what I _can_ do, but there is another, final season coming and I just don't want to write myself into another corner. Still, I may have one chapter after this. Maybe. I just need to figure out what to do, how far forward to move, yadda, yadda, yadda. Anyway, I hope you guys like it, let me know what you think and as always, ENJOY!

 **Chapter 28**

Since K was left to isolation –for lack of a better term- the people came to her. She couldn't very well go visit anyone given the risks involved, so those who could came to her. Hayley stayed for nearly a month and K was so glad she had. They even skyped with Hope. K couldn't stop crying. It was a ridiculous byproduct, but she just couldn't help it. Still, she only had the strength to do it once. Anymore, and she wasn't certain she wouldn't compel Hayley to give her Hope's location.

Month eight brought back Freya while Keelin remained home to work. Freya had been a midwife before and knew how to deliver children, so an actual nurse wasn't really needed, and she was curious about how the pregnancy was coming along. Freya was shocked to see K as big as she was when she arrived. Yes, she clearly knew the vampire was pregnant, but that was something almost easily ignored given the last time she saw the vampire, she wasn't showing. Now? Now, K had a fully inflated beach ball beneath her shirt.

"I'm waddling." K complained as they waited for their food at the restaurant. "Do you have any idea how ridiculous it feels to waddle?"

Freya chuckled softly into her glass before taking a sip. She wanted to console K in some way, but hearing –and now seeing- her waddle was too funny to ignore.

"It'll be over soon." She replied. "You're roughly thirty-three weeks, right?" K nodded softly. "Only a few left."

"Yeah," she breathed.

Freya noticed K slip into her thoughts and watched her curiously. There was fear, the same fear K felt when she'd initially called Freya to Rome. It perhaps wasn't as severe, but it was there nonetheless, and the witch could see it.

"What's wrong?" she finally asked.

K took in a deep breath and sat a bit straighter, like she didn't realize she'd wandered from the conversation.

"Hm?"

"What's wrong?" Freya repeated, more sad than before.

K's brows slowly tugged together as she stared at the witch across from her. Freya was so sweet to be concerned. K honestly felt grateful to have someone that did, someone that was actually physically close enough to care.

"I'm still scared." She admitted.

"About what, exactly?" she still remained sincere, "Is it the birth, or raising a child?"

To her surprise, K shook her head. "No, it's not that." She said. "It's what comes after. Birthing and rearing kids isn't a problem –I've done it a thousand times. I'm scared because I'll be alone." Freya's heart sank. K felt a bit foolish for exposing herself as much as she was, but it was true and she had to get it out. It wasn't something she could tell Klaus, after all. "I mean," she shrugged a single shoulder uselessly and turned her eyes out the windows of the restaurant. "Klaus won't be here. You, Rebekah, Elijah… Hayley, no one will be here, because you can't be." She looked to Freya again. "I can't take Klaus or Hayley away from Hope. I can't even be near Rebekah and Elijah because of the Hollow, and you can't be here. You have your life. And… and it's not even about me. It's about this," she rested her hand on her bulbous belly. "My kid won't get to know their family, any of their family. It's like it was with Hope all over again, only worse because this time, there's no curse. The family isn't resting in coffins. They're alive, walking around, living life. How am I supposed to explain that to a kid when they ask why they don't have a family?"

Freya took a deep breath and sighed softly. "I don't know." She replied.

"And obviously Klaus is going to want to be here for this," she motioned again to her stomach, "But then what? He's going to have to leave again. Like I said, I'm not taking him away from Hope, but then he has to walk away from another child, one he actually has the chance to watch grow up."

Freya felt a question bubble in her throat, but she pushed it down as far as it would go. She refused to point out the obvious because she knew it would only break K's heart or piss her off to the point of violence. Then again, it was entirely possible K was aware of what she was going to say. And she was. The vampire knew full well and as she looked at the blonde, she could see the conflict.

"I don't know if I'd be able to do that." She muttered softly. Freya's eyes met K's glassing ones. "I don't think I'd be able to give my child away."

"I know," Freya said in the same tone.

K had thought about simply giving her child to Klaus so he could raise it with Hayley and Hope, so it could be around everyone and happy without her, 'The Hollow's Vessel', but K didn't know if she had the strength to do it. She'd wanted a baby for so long, something that was actually hers, and she didn't think she'd be able to give it away so easily –even if it was to the child's father.

The conversation ended shortly after that and switched to a much lighter mood when the food arrived. The pair let themselves enjoy the moment as much as they could and ignore the huge, pressing questions that loomed over both of them, the things that reminded them of the uncertain future.

~!~

 **Mystic Falls:**

Klaus had every intention of showing up. He had every intention of arriving to see the birth of his child, but he wasn't given the chance. K went into labor prematurely and somehow, he knew it. He felt it deep in his bones, and he wasn't the only one.

Unable to sleep that night and pacing in the living room as he tried to identify the strange feelings coursing through him, Klaus was surprised to see Hope emerge in the doorway.

"Can't sleep?" he asked when he could voice words.

Hope shook her head softly. "It's time."

He didn't have to ask what she meant. The instant the words left his daughter's lips was the moment the strange, chaotic feelings coursing through his body found laser focus.

Klaus immediately reached for his phone and called K. She didn't answer. He called her again and again, and still she didn't pick up. With an angry growl, he dialed his sister's phone number. If there was anyone with K, he hoped it was Freya.

One, two, three times the call went unanswered, but for him, a fourth time was the charm.

" _What?!"_ she snapped angrily when she finally answered.

"What's happening?" he demanded.

Before she could speak, Klaus heard K scream in the background and it sent ice through his veins.

" _I'm a bit busy, Niklaus."_ Freya's voice remained stern and borderline angry that she had to take the detour.

"Don't you dare hang up on me!" he yelled, somehow sensing that was her plan.

" _I need both hands!"_ she shot back just as loudly. Even Hope heard her.

"Then set the bloody phone down, but don't you _dare_ end this call." He didn't bother hiding his threatening tone, even in the presence of his daughter.

Freya let out a loud, exasperated sigh, but did as he said. He heard the phone clack and assumed she tossed it down nearby. He was fine with that, so long as the line remained open.

Hayley heard the screaming –Klaus wasn't entirely silent- and came to the living room to find everyone wide awake. She didn't need to ask what was happening because she could clearly hearing K screaming through the phone and Freya's direction. Her stomach sank nervously, but she couldn't decide if it was joy or fear that caused it.

"Speaker phone, Klaus." She told him as she and Hope moved deeper into the room.

He barely seemed to remember there were others nearby and reluctantly did as she asked, setting the phone on the coffee table so they could all listen. It sounded vaguely like a horror movie.

~!~

 **Rome:**

K bit back another scream, but some of it escaped like the previous ones had. At that moment, she swore she'd never felt anything so painful. With a clear head, she'd remember how untrue the statement was, but now, it felt like she was dying.

"Come on," Frey coaxed softly, "Push."

As the contraction raced through her body, K pushed as she was instructed. Her only respite was the brief, two minute hesitations between the pain. Finally, it ended and she was allowed to breathe.

"Why the hell do women do this to themselves?" she asked with a weak voice.

Freya fought the soft smile. Instead, she focused on the task at hand.

Neither had expected her water to break while out in town, but it had –six weeks early. Though she wavered and had trouble standing as contractions began, K lifted Freya onto her back and raced back to the villa. It wasn't as though she could go to a hospital, after all.

At home, Freya immediately raced through the house to prepare for the birth while K leaned against the wall and fought the ache that radiated through her very being. Thankfully, both had been around long enough to know what to do.

K refused to use her bed and instead Freya tossed blankets, pillows and everything else onto the floor. She hated the idea, but assumed K just didn't want to spoil her bed. Whatever. It wasn't as though there was time to debate.

K never wanted Freya to know her so intimately, but she was beyond-words grateful the witch was there and was adept.

Another contraction came and K pushed again. Now, Freya could see a head. She prompted K to continue and in what felt like an instant compared to the buildup, there was another life in the room.

Freya immediately wrapped the infant in a soft, cotton towel and helped K finish with the bits the movies and TV doesn't show before turning her attention to the crying pink thing.

~!~

 **Mystic Falls:**

On the other end of the phone, Klaus felt his body pulse when he heard the infant cry. His mouth hung slack as he listened to the soft, distant sound. Hayley felt herself smile while she held Hope to her side. There was another Mikaelson.

" _There we go,"_ Freya cooed softly as the baby began to calm. " _Everything's okay now. Shhhh,"_

"Freya," Klaus was amazed he managed to even say her name.

" _It's a boy,"_ she replied with an obviously teary laugh. " _You guys have a son."_

A weak laugh left Klaus' lips. He had a son of his very own, a boy to carry his name. Hope was not only a big sister, but she had a little brother.

" _Congratu-"_ Freya began to say.

" _Freya,"_ K's fearful voice cut her off.

" _What?"_

" _Something's wrong."_

Klaus suddenly seized. The immense joy he felt only a moment ago was gone in an instant.

" _What?"_ Freya's voice was suddenly worried.

" _Something's wrong."_ K repeated before she screamed again.

"What's happening?" Klaus demanded. No one replied, but K continued to scream. "What's happening!?"

" _Oh my god,"_

Three simple words from his sister's lips made Klaus nearly collapse. He'd never felt so weak, so useless. He was thousands of miles away and something was clearly wrong.

" _Kali, stay with me!"_

" _What's happening to me?"_

It was like a horror movie, and those listening had about as much influence over what was happening as an audience would. Klaus struggled to keep from reacting, but he didn't know what he could do. There was nothing and as a result, he shook.

Without warning, another sharp cry filled the air, but it was that of his son. K had gone silent again and things seemed to have calmed in Rome, but it could just as easily mean everyone was dead, save his son. That was how startling little he knew of what was happening.

" _Oh my god,"_ it was K's voice this time that broke the silence. She sounded surprised, confused, and alive.

"What?" Klaus barked. "What's going on?! Someone speak, now!"

" _I…"_ K stammered. She was at a loss.

~!~

 **Rome:**

K sat up. Her body was already healing from the intense trauma it had gone through only a moment before, but the shock remained. She stared at Freya and the witch shared her expression. Klaus continued to scream on the other end of the phone, demanding to know what was happening, but the two were so stunned, they weren't capable at first.

"Twins," Freya finally said as she wrapped the second child in a towel just as she had the first. "It's… twins."


	29. Chapter 29

**AN:** Damn, two weeks. I didn't think it'd been so long since my last update. Sorry, but this took a little while to compose and hopefully its length will make up for it. :) That being said, I think this might be the last chapter for this book. I'm probably going to write a little more, but I don't know if I'll have enough to post. Then again, my slight OCD might compel me to so I could have a nice, round number of chapters, lol. Still, as of now, this is the end until the show airs again (whenever the hell that is) so, for perhaps the last time for now, enjoy and let me know what you think!

 **Chapter 29**

The two infants were nestled tightly in their blankets, wrapped up like little people-burritos and sleeping soundly side by side in the single crib K had purchased. She stood over the two beside Freya, staring at them in disbelief.

"And you had no idea there were two?" Freya whispered to keep from waking the boys.

"No," K still couldn't remove the shocked tone from her voice. "I mean, I felt the fluttering and stuff, but I just assumed it was supposed to feel like that. I didn't think there was more than one in there."

Freya nodded softly. Without going to a doctor for a sonogram, she could see how the two could be easily lost –even by someone who could feel every thump of their heartbeats. It wasn't as though K knew what it was supposed to feel like, after all.

As they stared at the two tiny people, Freya felt her lips curl up into a smile. It had been centuries since she'd been around newborns –not since her own child, in fact. By the time she came around Hope, the little girl was already a few months old.

K was already in 'mommy mode', however. She was thinking now about how she had to purchase a spare of everything she'd already bought, of how she planned to balance the pair, and their names. She had to think of names. A few ideas leapt to mind, but there was one thing she refused to name either of them: Niklaus. The two would already have a hard enough life being Mikaelsons. They didn't need the added hassle of sharing their father's name.

"How are you feeling?" Freya finally asked, turning to face the vampire at her side.

"Fine," K shrugged. She was completely healed minutes after the pair was born, so she felt as good as new. "A bit hungry, though. I'd imagine my appetite's gone back to normal."

"Probably," Freya smiled.

Together, the two left the room so the boys could sleep and went about finishing up the rest of the cleaning. Most of it had been taken care of, but there was still a bit, so they tended to it and put the house right again, soon making it look as though there hadn't been a home birth only an hour prior.

~!~

Freya called Keelin and sent her a picture of her nephews. As most anyone would, the wolf swooned immediately over the adorable little boys. The pair talked about what the next step would be considering the boys had come six weeks early (which wasn't entirely surprising now that the world knew there were twins hiding in K's belly). Freya told her that she planned to stay as long as originally decided, or until K told her to go. Given there were two of them now, Freya thought the vampire may appreciate a spare set of hands until a routine could be made.

And she did. Until K got as used to the boys as she assumed she would, she greatly appreciated having someone else's help. For a little while, juggling things like feedings, changings, and baths was going to be tricky.

The sun had set on K's first day as a mother and she couldn't sleep. Freya was exhausted as anyone with a pulse would be after the exciting day, but K wasn't the least bit tired. Instead, she sat in bed, leaning against her headboard with a brand new journal in her hands and the bassinet close by. Her eyes drifted periodically to the simple wooden piece before to her journal once again. On the first page was a picture of each of her sons, the date and their times of birth. She was glad Freya had the forethought of actually looking, because she obviously wasn't clear-headed enough to try.

As she sat and began to write a letter to her sons for them to read in the future, K felt the air around her shift. Her brows came together softly and when she glanced up, she saw why. Klaus stood in her doorway, staring at the bassinet with both fear and joy. She understood the sentiment. Closing her book with the pen in the spine, K rose to meet him.

Perhaps she should have been surprised he randomly appeared without a phone call, but she knew the moment she went into labor the countdown had begun. It was just a matter of time before Klaus would be in Rome.

When she neared, he looked up and met her eye. K offered a soft smile, took his hand and helped him walk the rest of the way. He was glad for the assistance. Something had kept him from making his way into the bedroom. He didn't know if it was disbelief or fear, but it slowly began to dissipate the closer he moved to that small piece of furniture.

Klaus looked into the basinet and felt his breath catch in his throat. The two boys were lying together, feet to feet and still wrapped tightly in their blankets with small, newborn beanies on their heads. They looked similar, but at this point, it was impossible for them not to. No one would know if they were identical or fraternal for a little while, so the only thing to separate them was the fact that one was wrapped in a blue blanket with thin white stripes and the other in white with thin blue stripes. Their beanies matched.

"They're," was the best he could manage.

So many things fought to leave his lips, but Klaus wasn't capable of much more than the single word that had already escaped. He had questions to ask and praise to give, but at the moment he was simply transfixed by the pair.

As he stood there staring at his sons –a concept that still had trouble sinking in- one of them began to wake. His small, tiny nose curled and his face twisted. He whimpered and looked like he was about to start crying. As though on cue, his brother began to mimic his actions.

"Shhhh," K cooed softly. She dipped into the bassinet and lifted the little boy in blue. "Please,"

Klaus didn't know if he made any move or not to help, but the next thing he knew, his son was in his arms while K retrieved his brother. Since K couldn't smell anything, she knew the two were hungry. Klaus just followed her as she left the room. Still in a daze, he could do nothing more than stare in awe at his newest child while K warmed a pair of bottles in the kitchen. When she returned, she handed him one and the two took a seat in the living room.

Klaus watched intently as his son drank from the bottle. He was never given the chance to do this -the chance to feed a baby, to hold his newborn child. The night she was born, Rebekah took Hope away, effectively removing Klaus' chance to do as he was. His chest hurt and his heart raced at the same time.

"How are you?" he finally asked, tearing his eyes from the infant and looking at K sitting in the chair not far from him.

"Fine," she told him with a gentle smile. "I'm glad you're here."

Klaus smiled, too. He couldn't put into words how he felt.

"So," he looked down to the boy in his arms again. "Who's who?"

K laughed lightly to herself. She understood the confusion, which was why the two were 'dressed' differently and if Klaus could see their hands, he'd realize they each had a thin piece of differently colored string on their wrists. It might sound a bit ridiculous to some, but until the two took on traits that would differentiate them from one another, the boys would have to wear their little markers.

"This is Matthew." She said, gently rocking the boy in her arms before her eyes drifted to the other. "And that's Alexander, the eldest."

"Alexander," Klaus said to the child he fed. "And Matthew Mikaelson." He nodded softly and met her eye again. His smile returned. "I like it."

The two continued to feed the boys until their appetites were slated. After a burping, they were set back down in their bassinet to sleep. Klaus lingered for a moment or two, watching the pair make their soft cooing noises as they slipped back into sleep again, before drawing back.

He approached K and when he was within arm's reach, he didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her and kiss her. It was the first time he touched her since arriving. K held him close and happily deepened the kiss in return. Klaus threaded his fingers through her hair and cradled the back of her head until they parted a moment later. He pressed his forehead to hers.

"I've missed you," he sighed. She smiled. It might have only been a couple of months since they'd seen one another, but that was more than enough. "I've missed my wife."

Without warning, Klaus lifted K into his arms. They parted just enough for her to look down at him with reverence.

"I've missed my husband." She admitted.

Klaus chuckled and kissed her again, taking a few steps forward until her back touched the nearest wall.

~!~

The two found it difficult to find some time alone the night before given the house was completely occupied now, but they managed. What's the saying? When there's a will, there's a way.

K rose early that morning out of necessity and while Klaus was jet-lagged from the long flights to get to Rome, he was excited to wake, and did. Freya was surprised to see Klaus when he stepped into the living room. She wasn't shocked he was there, only that he'd come in the middle of the night without being heard. Still, she was glad to see her brother.

Freya ate breakfast and talked to Klaus while the hybrid fed one of his sons fresh from his bath. He felt a bit guilty not knowing which. They were both wearing white onesies when Klaus woke and the 'bracelets' they wore meant nothing to him without context.

"Why are they wearing ribbons?" he asked despite knowing full well. He simply wanted one of them to differentiate between the two so he wouldn't have to feel even guiltier for not being able to tell his sons apart.

"So we know who's who." Freya smiled at the little boy in Klaus' arms. "We took them from a pair of books."

He chuckled to himself. The ribbons around the boys' wrists were former bookmarks. It made sense the two young women would reach for anything at hand.

"Alexander has gold." Freya said. Klaus glanced down and noticed the boy he held had a golden ribbon. "And Matthew has green."

His eyes traveled to K. She was still standing at the sink with Matthew, tenderly bathing the newborn more completely than they had the day before after he was born. While Alexander ate, Klaus watched K.

K gently poured water over Matthew as she rinsed off the soap. He stared up at her with brilliant sapphire eyes and she wondered if they'd stay that color or change when he was older. The tuft of dark hair on his head, though, she was sure would remain. Then again, Hope used to be blonde.

The boys looked identical. They had the same round, blue eyes, the same little nose, and the same brown hair. A day old may be too early to tell which type of twins they'd be, but K was already fairly certain.

She spoke sweetly to the baby and held him with the utmost care. When she lifted him out of the shallow water, K immediately set him down on the overly plush towel and wrapped him up. As she cradled him in her arms, K couldn't put into words how much she loved him and his brother. She thought she loved the Bennett girls. She thought she loved Hope, her friends, and Klaus, but it almost paled in comparison to what she felt for her own sons. K had never had a child that was hers, felt a life growing inside her. It was a connection she never thought she would feel, but now she had. Her feelings for the others would never fade -obviously- they'd never falter, but this was a little different. K actually felt a primal need to protect her sons, much more animalistic than anything previous.

Taking Matthew into the other room, she dressed him and returned to the kitchen. Retrieving a bottle, K took a seat at the kitchen table with the others and began to feed him, too.

~!~

Freya remained for another two weeks after Klaus' arrival. It wasn't that she thought she was needed, necessarily –more that she didn't quite want to leave yet. Matthew and Alexander were addictive to their Aunt. For those two weeks, they were allowed to be a family more so than they had in some time. There was no Dahlia in the shadows, no Mikael or Marcel. There was nothing but the beautiful Rome air and the two infants.

And pictures. The adults lost count of the number of pictures that had been taken with cellphones and one of K's cameras alike. So very many, it was amazing no one's fingers cramped as a result.

Eventually, the entire group took Freya to the airport and wished her a fond farewell. K ensured her and Keelin's address hadn't changed, wished her a safe journey and said goodbye. Klaus did the same, and soon the blond was gone.

After Freya had gone, Klaus, K and their sons were the perfect family. They did everything together and looked picturesque at the same time -handsome father, beautiful mother and two adorably sweet little boys. Everything was perfect, for a moment. But the inevitable began to happen. Each call from Hope to talk to her dad just made K even more aware that he couldn't stay. As much as she wanted him to, he couldn't. And just like that, she was faced with the same painful dilemma as before: How the hell were they supposed to make this work?

Matthew and Alexander were sleeping for the night inside. K had checked on them once more before joining Klaus in the garden. The night was crisp and peaceful despite the distant traffic of the city.

"Viking father," Klaus began as she walked through the open double doors, "Thracian mother, Roman sons," she slid into the chaise not far from him, "And a genuine New Orleans witch sister." He turned to K with a wide, proud smile stretching across his lips. "Aren't we the well-rounded family?"

She laughed and shook her head at him and his ridiculous phrase. That didn't make it untrue, however, and that was perhaps what made her laugh more.

Still musing over what he'd said, the pair shifted their attention skyward. It really was a beautiful night, and K hated to ruin it, but ruin it she did.

"Nik," her voice was soft and lofty. He rolled his head in her direction while her eyes remained up. "What are we supposed to do?"

"About what, darling?"

She faced him and he could see her worry clearly in her eyes. He recognized that look immediately. The conversation they were about to have was going to hurt him, and he knew it.

"With our sons." She said. The phrase was not only still foreign to say, but to hear as well. "How are we supposed to make this work?"

"I don't know," he said leisurely with a shrug of a shoulder. "I suppose I can spend six months here and six months at home."

"That's not fair to Hope, or them." She told him simply. "They can't be asked to share you for half the year."

"All right," he mumbled primarily to himself as he continued to think. "I suppose I can take them back with me."

When he glanced to her again, Klaus saw pure murder in her eyes despite her face remaining emotionless. He felt an actual chill run up the length of his spine at K's stare.

"Are you asking me to give up my sons so they can be raised without me?" her voice reflected the strange, angry-calm in her face.

Temporarily disarmed by her tone, it took Klaus a moment to bring himself back and reply.

"Well, what would you suggest?"

"I don't know." She replied. "That's why I asked. I've been trying to come up with something for months."

Klaus let out a long, deep sigh and shook his head to himself. "Must we think of something this moment?" he asked with a tight edge. "Can't we simply enjoy the time we have?"

K reluctantly agreed, but agreed nonetheless. She hated that no one was helping her. She hated that such a massive decision was being forced onto her shoulders and no one seemed willing to help take some of the weight. Deep down, K knew whatever she chose was going to hurt someone, that people were going to be angry, and unhappy, but she didn't know what else to do. So long as The Hollow called her body home, they couldn't all be together.

~!~

Matthew and Alexander were nearly two months old before Klaus could tear himself away. But he still had Hope. He still had a life in Virginia and he –admittedly- missed his daughter greatly.

Klaus felt a bit empty when he arrived home, but a hug from his beautiful little girl was just the cure. She bombarded him with questions about her brothers and he happily told her everything –even showing her the pictures he had on his phone. Hayley had to admit the boys were adorable. She still had trouble believing K bore twins, though. Actually, she thought it was hilarious. She badly wished she could be there to watch K try and handle the load.

"They are so cute," Hayley sighed as she and Hope sat on the couch looking through a photo album K had put together. Her love of 'scrapbooking' had never been more apparent than when Klaus retrieved a leather bound journal from his bag and offered it to the two women of the house.

"I can't wait to meet them." Hope smiled as she looked at the pair.

Hayley smiled sadly as she glanced to her daughter. She wished the siblings could meet one another immediately, but so long as The Hollow lingered, it likely wouldn't happen until the boys were old enough to travel on their own.

"Me neither," Hayley smiled. She tenderly rubbed Hope's back before the pair went back to the book.

As they flipped through pages of the happy family –including those taken with Freya- Hope noticed something odd. Her brows came together when she saw a few of the pages near the back were bulging out.

"What's this?" she asked barely loud enough for Hayley to hear.

Coming into the moment, Hayley watched as Hope sifted through the back pages of the journal and pulled them apart, revealing an envelope wedged within the spine. There was no name.

"I don't know, sweetie." Hayley replied. "Open it."

And she did. Since the envelope wasn't sealed, Hope easily opened the flap and pulled out a letter. She saw her father's name written across the top and knew immediately it was meant for him, and him alone.

"Dad!" Hope called loudly enough he could hear her from his bedroom. Klaus was busy unpacking his things, but emerged shortly after. Hope offered him the letter. "This was in the book."

He seemed confused for a moment as he took the piece of paper from her. The instant his eyes fell to it, his stomach twisted and preemptive anger began to surge. Somehow, he already knew he wasn't going to like what he was about to read. As of late, K's letters were nothing good. They always bore sad or rage-inducing messages, and this one was no different.

 _Nik,_

 _I'm leaving Rome. Within a day or two, we'll be on the road looking for a new country. Since the boys are so young, I'm not willing to fly, but we're finding a new home nonetheless._

 _Since no one's been able to give me reasonable suggestions on what we're meant to do now, I've decided. I'm not willing to give my children away –even to their father- nor am I going to ask Hope to compromise when she shouldn't have to. As a result, I'll raise the boys on my own._

 _Now please, don't misunderstand and lose your temper before finishing this letter. I'm not saying you'll never see them again, nor am I forbidding you from it, I simply think this is the best way to do it. I propose that once a year, we spend a month together. Or perhaps, two weeks at two separate times. One month is all I feel comfortable with when it comes to taking you away from Hope. Anymore, and I fear she may think you're choosing her brothers over her and that's something I'm not willing to be the cause of._

 _My address will change –many times, I'm sure- but my phone number won't. You'll always be able to contact me, to FaceTime with me to see your sons and I will send you enough pictures to crash your phone, but I honestly think this is the best way to handle the situation._

 _I'm not cutting you out, Nik. Understand that. I'm not taking them away, but you know as well as I do, this is what's best._

 _I love you._

 _K_

His shoulders shook. Hayley and Hope watched his reaction to the letter, watched how his expression darkened and turned sad at the same time. The very air in the room changed, and while they wanted to know what was happening, neither were brave enough to ask. For a moment.

"Klaus," Hayley's voice was soft and weary, but it might as well have been screamed. He flinched and met her gaze. Without speaking, he offered Hayley the letter. The moment she touched it, he vanished. The only indication as to where he'd gone was the open front door.

Hayley and Hope glanced briefly to one another before the hybrid read over the letter. She let out a soft sigh, but she understood. Not only did she understand his heartbreak, but she understood K's decision. Hope asked to read it, but Hayley wouldn't let her. She knew a few lines would hurt Hope's feelings, and she wasn't willing to do that. So instead, she explained the gist of it as best she could.

~!~

 **On a freeway outside Parma Italy:**

K adjusted her rearview mirror and looked at the two boys sleeping in their car seats. She smiled at the sight of them and gave her attention to the road once again.

She felt guilty for her letter and hated that she'd written it so briskly, but she did it to save herself from the emotions running through her. K truly did feel guilty taking Alexander and Matthew away from Klaus, but it wasn't as though she was stealing them away. She meant what she said: Klaus was welcomed to be a part of their lives, they just had to be sparing with it.

But God only knew how he'd react when he finally read the letter. K assumed she'd know. She expected her phone to erupt because of an angry hybrid, but until then, she'd simply drive.


	30. Chapter 30

**AN:  
** Hey guys! I know I should probably wait a little while to actually post the final chapter to this story, but yeah, I'm not going to. And yes, this is the final chapter of this book. I'll start up again when the show does, but I don't think that's supposed to happen until March/April-ish, or something. So, until then, here's this. I hope you like it and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

And special thanks to nightsinshadow for answering my questions. :)

 **Chapter 30  
**

Arts and Crafts might seem like an odd thing to have at a real life school of 'witchcraft and wizardry' –especially when some of those students weren't entirely human- but it was that odd bit of normalcy Caroline thought the kids needed and Alaric agreed. It was that thing every kid did, despite whether or not they could change into a vicious animal once a month, or control Mother Nature herself with nothing more than their mind. Drawing, painting –etc- was just something to help them forget about what brought them to the academy.

It was normal.

Hope loved Art Class. She didn't know if it was because of her dad or not, but she loved it just the same.

The bell to dismiss class –and actually the school day- went unnoticed by the young Mikaelson. She was so engrossed in her task that she had no idea her fellow students had filed out of the room, leaving her alone at her desk.

She was nearly done. For days, Hope worked diligently on her project and she was nearly done. Perhaps that's why she never heard the bell?

As they tended to, any one of the adults walked the kids out –those who lived off the grounds, at least- and watched them leave. It wasn't until then they noticed Hope wasn't among her friends.

Alaric and Caroline glanced curiously to one another. Without a word, Caroline headed inside. Alaric's eyes drifted to the parking lot and it was then he noticed Klaus was the one to come and pick Hope up. He immediately groaned internally to himself, but plastered a fake, forced smile across his lips –one Klaus reciprocated.

"Where's my daughter?" he asked without pleasantries.

"Inside," Alaric replied in the same tone.

Without another word, Klaus walked into the home with an air of superiority that was neither foreign, nor truly deserved. Alaric rolled his eyes and followed.

Inside, Caroline found Hope easily before Klaus even approached Alaric. The blond smiled to herself at how intensely Hope seemed to be working.

"Hope?"

Even though Caroline spoke softly, the sound of someone else jolted Hope back into the moment. Her head shot up and as she looked around, she seemed to only then realize the entire classroom was empty. She was briefly confused.

"What are you working on?" Caroline asked with a gentle laugh as she approached.

"Oh, uh…" Hope glanced down at her work. "Finishing my project."

Caroline nodded and stepped around Hope, taking a stance over her shoulder to see what had her attention so completely. It was jewelry –bracelets, actually.

The bracelets were made of thin, flat pieces of brown leather cording. Four strips each were braided together with what was no doubt impressive dexterity. Being done in such a way made the bracelets wider than normal and a little 'heftier' in appearance, but no less beautiful, and they still somehow looked very delicate.

Both bracelets were about six inches long and tied in such a way they could be easily affixed. In fact, it looked like Hope managed to create a sliding knot that could be easily used once they were around the wrist of their recipients. But the most impressive bit was the silver designs. Somehow attached to the leather were small 'plates' with symbols Caroline didn't know how to read. The symbols looked like they'd been tenderly and expertly engraved on small, silver name plates. They just looked like lines to the blonde –actually- but they were beautiful.

"Pretty," Caroline smiled.

"Hello, sweetheart."

Klaus' voice caused both young women to look up. Caroline fought the urge to be rude to the hybrid, but Hope smiled happily.

"Hi, dad." She greeted.

He smiled to her, but the action was admittedly forced when he looked at Caroline.

"Look," Hope said, drawing his attention. Klaus looked down at the bracelets and immediately recognized the runic Viking writing. His smile returned, this time taking on a level of such sincerity it made Caroline's dead heart want to flutter just a little bit. Oddly enough, he looked down at the pieces with the purest love and adoration. "Do you think they'll like it?"

He chuckled softly and nodded, "Of course, darling. They'll love them."

Hope beamed proudly. She nodded to herself as she looked back at the jewelry again.

"Who are they for?" Caroline felt compelled to ask. She was curious to know who would cause Klaus to glow like he did.

"My brothers," Hope answered without hesitation.

Caroline's face dropped and her attention shot to Klaus as though he could somehow explain. She was shocked –clearly- and being the arrogant ass he tended to be, Klaus just smirked once again.

"Hayley's pregnant again?" Caroline mumbled for some strange reason.

"Unlikely," Klaus replied, "Though honestly, I don't keep so close an eye on her."

"Then who-" Before she could finish the question, Caroline felt she already had her answer. Her eyes narrowed and the shock left her features, replaced quickly with confusion. "Kali?"

"Of course," he nodded.

Caroline's head began to surge with a thousand questions. "But… she's… how… she… what?"

His brows rose as he stared at the normally talkative blonde that was struck dumb. She was so confused, she couldn't seem to form a single coherent question.

"Three months ago," Klaus spoke slowly so she could understand him. Caroline immediately glowered and honestly, he rather liked her annoyance with him. "Kali bore twin boys, Alex," he pointed to one of the bracelets adorned with four etching marks Caroline couldn't read, "And Matt." He pointed at the second.

"So… she was someone's surrogate?" that was the only way Caroline could make sense of it. She just assumed it was a situation similar to her own, but to her shock, Klaus shook his head. "How?"

His grin once again turned arrogant as he slid his hands into his pockets. "Gather your things, darling." He told Hope, who did as he asked as he turned his attention back to Caroline. "Kali's a hybrid, now."

The crease between Caroline's brows deepened as they furrowed even tighter than before. Truthfully, Klaus enjoyed her utter befuddlement more than he probably should have, but since his life had become so pedestrian, he needed to find his joys somewhere.

"Sh… _what_?"

He chuckled, but didn't elaborate because Hope was finished putting her things back in her bag. Grabbing her bracelets, Hope said goodbye to her Headmistress and alongside Klaus, left. She said goodbye to Alaric in passing, as well.

On their way to the car, Hope again looked at the pieces of jewelry in her hand. "Did I spell it right, dad?"

Klaus unlocked the car with his clicker and glanced briefly to her before opening her door. "You did, actually." He told her. Her smile grew. "What brought this on?"

Hope slid into the car and fastened her seatbelt while Klaus stepped around the front and took his seat. He started up the small SUV and backed out of the driveway.

"I wanted them to have something from me." She told him simply before her face fell just a bit. Hope continued to stare at the bracelets, but now she looked a little sad. "I know it might be a while before I can meet them, so I want them to know they have a sister."

Klaus' heart broke in his chest. He sighed to himself and wanted so badly to make her feel better, but he didn't know how. At least not yet.

"I can promise you, they'll know they have a sister." Klaus told her. Hope glanced to him and he forced a heavy smile when she did. "You knew us when you were young. Your mother will make sure they know they have a big sister."

"Really?" she smiled softly.

"Of course," he nodded. There was little Klaus could reassure her of when it came to their familial situation, but Klaus knew with absolute certainty that K would ensure both boys knew they had a sister. "It won't be like this forever, sweetheart." He said, reaching over and gently taking her hand in his. "Eventually, we'll all be together again." Hope smiled softly again and gave him another soft nod. "They may not be able to wear the bracelets for some time, though. They're rather small at the moment."

"I know." She smiled.

The mood lightened slightly, but given their topic of conversation, Klaus knew this was perhaps the best time for him to speak to Hope about something important.

"Sweetheart," he said with as little a tone as he could manage. Klaus wasn't entirely certain he succeeded. "There's something I'd like to speak with you about."

* * *

 **Uster, Switzerland**

Uster was picturesque. There were no other words for it. It looks like a postcard and was just as exciting.

Still, it was where the newest generation of Mikaelsons called home.

Within the walls of their quaint little home, K sat in her living room on a large rug while Alexander and Matthew played. The pair was lying side by side on their backs while the mobile that arched over the pair of them sang its songs and flashed its lights. The smiles they bore made K immediately happy.

K was right about the letter she'd sent home with Klaus. A fight came and it came swiftly. They screamed at one another from half-way around the world. Klaus bellowed his rage at being taken away from his sons and that K had absconded with them without giving him a say in the matter. She countered with the fact that the boys were far too young to understand what was happening at the moment, but Hope was becoming a young woman. She was the one who needed him more for now. He again screamed that she didn't have the right, and K reminded him –furiously- that she'd asked for his help, but he left the decisions to her. She told him that if he hated her choices so much, he should have helped her with them.

The line went silent almost immediately following the declaration. She could still hear his heavy breathing and knew he was pacing on the other end of the line, but he'd gone primarily quiet. K didn't know if that was better, or worse. But she felt justified. She'd asked everyone for the slightest bit of help in figuring out how to deal with the boys and Nik, but no one said anything aside from _I don't know._ If that's all they had to say on the matter, they don't have the right to be angry now.

That was nearly three months ago, but it wasn't the last time the pair had spoken to each other. After their hurt feelings mended and their anger faded, Klaus could see her reasoning. He didn't like it –though he liked very few things it seemed- but at least he understood it.

A sound from the kitchen caused K to glance up in time to see Klaus entering the living room with a glass of blood in each hand. His eyes lightened the moment he saw his sons lying on their backs playing, but his jaw tightened just a bit when his gaze shifted to K. She shared his annoyed sentiment.

"Here you are, darling." He offered her the blood.

"Thank you," she mumbled as she took her drink. K sipped at it before setting it aside. Klaus took the couch just behind her and watched the boys. "So," she sighed softly, "That's your plan then, hm?"

"Yes," he told her firmly.

K felt herself shake her head. She didn't like his plan and he could tell the moment he told her. Klaus had decided that since he didn't like the outcome of their custody agreement, that he would change it. Instead of her particular stipulations, he'd decided to spend the school year with her and the boys while he spent the summer with Hope. To him, it made perfect sense and was incredibly reasonable. K wasn't so sure.

"It doesn't seem fair, Nik, not after everything everyone did to keep you two together."

He fought the urge to roll his eyes, but it happened regardless. "Enough, Kali." He sighed with a slight annoyance. "I've spoken with Hope. She's fine with this arrangement."

"Well, of course she's not going to say anything." K shifted to stare at him. "She's too sweet to do that."

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "You're aware her feelings aren't hurt, aren't you?" he asked. She gave him a sarcastic stare. "Kali, she's thirteen years old. She's not seven anymore. She's completely aware that I need to spend time with her brothers."

"Thirteen," K sighed to herself.

She couldn't believe it. Rationally, she knew Hope was obviously that old, but in her mind, Hope was still that same little girl K left behind all those years ago. That's what dictated her decision as much as it had: she still considered Hope a little girl who needed her father. Now, it seemed she was old enough to be on her own, to understand the world around her.

"So," Klaus slid down onto the floor and sat beside K and the boys on the large rug, "That's simply how it will be."

K arched a single brow as she stared at him. She wanted to be annoyed with his arrogant tone, the tone that told her he'd come up with the best plan in the world, but she didn't. Honestly, she wasn't sure she had the strength. K was so damned tired of taking care of everyone from the children to the adults. Truthfully, it felt wonderful not having to make every grown up decision.

* * *

The boys were sleeping in their bedroom while K and Klaus retired to the living room. The house K was renting was nestled in the back-half of an older woman's property near a lake and overlooking the sloping hills. The property was once a farm on the outskirts of the Uster hub, but now it was just beautiful landscape her landlord charged people to inhabit and enjoy.

Since she didn't live anywhere for longer than a year, there were times K simply chose to rent, and this was just such an occasion. She didn't wish to go through the hassles of finding a home for purchase, nor was it really needed. Their little home was plenty.

The house itself was cabin-esque in design and appearance. The exterior was made of aged plank wood that cradled moss during the spring –tinting the building a light green. The front door led immediately into the living room. Open to the living room and to the left was the kitchen alongside the dining room and to the right was the hall that led to the two bedrooms and bathroom. There were only a few windows, but the lack of light they let in was remedied by the fact that the back wall of the house was nearly all glass. As a result, it gave an incredible view of the landscape from the comfort of the couch.

That's where Klaus and K sat.

It was night and the sky was clouding over with a coming storm. It was frigid outside and as a result, there was a fire lit in the fireplace. While the pair of immortals didn't feel the chill, the two infants in the other room most assuredly would and since K didn't trust the electricity to hold out during the storm that was supposed to hit, the fire would have to suffice. Thankfully, the cabin wasn't too large which meant the fireplace was sufficient.

There was a flash of lightening that illuminated the clouds briefly, drawing their attention. Most of the lights in the house were turned off so they could see into the darkness perfectly through the glass.

Before taking her seat, K stepped into the kitchen and reached for a bottle of scotch. Klaus rolled his head lazily in her direction and felt himself watch her preform the simple task. There was nothing special about the way she stood or how she poured something into a glass, but he stared regardless.

She returned a moment later and handed him one of the drinks in passing. Klaus gave her a gentle nod of thanks, but K didn't sit beside him as he expected. Instead, she walked to the double doors, unlocked one and stepped outside. He felt his head tilt marginally to the side as he watched her curiously through the glass.

Outside was a small porch with a simple awning to shield whoever was sitting beneath it from the elements. There rested a few chairs, two small end tables and a fire pit. K lit another fire and fell gently into one of the chairs that overlooked the beautiful landscape. Klaus rose and followed suit, closing the door behind him to keep the chill from seeping into the house. He sat beside her in another chair.

They sat in silence as the sound of thunder rolled closer. It was supposed to rain and they could smell it on the air.

"Are you certain we can do this?" K asked after a while.

"Do what?" he felt he knew, but he didn't want to answer her question without being certain.

"Raise the boys," she said as she looked to him. Klaus met her gaze, "With you flying back and forth."

"I do," he nodded. "Besides, it isn't as though it'll be for long. Soon," he took in a breath and sighed softly as he looked to the horizon again. "We'll be together again, all of us. The Mikaelsons never remain separated for long."

"Hm," she mumbled to herself.

"Now that I'm here, does that mean you'll finally settle down and end this foolish need to move every few months?"

His comment was meant to be a bit teasing because he had no issues with travel, but her answer surprised him.

"No,"

She spoke with finality and certainty. The odd tone of it caused him to look at her curiously. K sipped at her drink, but felt his eyes. After a moment, she turned to him with a blank expression.

"What?" she asked casually.

"Not that I'm against adventure," he said, "but there are infants involved, now."

"And?" she almost dared. "I have to keep moving, Nik. It's not out of choice, it's necessity."

"What could possibly drive you to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on something as frivolous as multiple houses in different countries?" he asked before a strange feeling trickled down his spine. "Unless you're planning to run again."

"Of course I plan to run." She said as though it should have been obvious. Klaus' face darkened angrily as he stared at her.

"If you honestly think-"

"I'm not running from you, Nik." K interrupted. He silenced himself immediately. K sighed and looked over the hills again. There was another flash of lightning and boom of thunder. The storm had nearly arrived. "I was never running from you."

"Then who?" he knew she wasn't afraid of anyone and couldn't be killed with traditional means, so he felt he had to know.

"Hope,"

His chest tightened.

"What?"

K ran her fingers through her hair and ruffled it nervously, as though it would somehow make her feel better.

"I'm running from Hope."

"Why on earth would you be running from our daughter?"

"Because of The Hollow."

"Kali," he sighed. Klaus leaned forward which again drew K's gaze. "She's safe. The Hollow will never find Hope so long as she remains safely hidden away."

K's brows came together and something akin sarcastic disbelief took her features.

"Hidden?" she challenged. "Really?" he shrugged and nodded. "Nik, she's in Virginia."

His face fell. "How did you-"

She scoffed slightly and shook her head. He could see her eyes glistening just a bit in the dim light and wondered if she really was on the verge of crying.

The truth was, yes –K felt like she might cry.

"I've always known." K told him honestly. "I never lost her."

"How could you possibly know she'd be in Virginia?"

"Because I know Hayley." She said simply. "I spent years with her. Do you really think there'd be anywhere else for her to take Hope? I mean, honestly. I knew the moment I left New Orleans that Hayley would take her somewhere she'd be safe, somewhere she could learn how to control her power, and there's nowhere else Hayley would trust outside of that school Alaric has. I've always known Hope was in Mystic Falls."

"Then why haven't you gone to see her?" he didn't know why he asked –he knew the reason she stayed away- but after seeing how sad Hope was that K disappeared, he felt like he needed to know for his daughter's sake.

"You're joking, right?" she asked with an edge. "Every day I feel that witch gnawing at my insides. She wants nothing more than to take Hope again and because I know where she is, it's harder to keep her silent. That's why I move so often, why I _keep_ moving. I do it to relieve that feeling for just a little while longer." Her voice was clipped and her anger growing. "So no, Nik, I'm not going to stop moving just because of the boys, because I can't. If I stay still for too long, I consider going back and I can't do that." When she blinked, a tear trailed down each cheek. "That's why I can't call her, why I can't Skype or FaceTime with her. That's why I can't have the slightest bit of contact with the little girl that I raised," her voice was beginning to tremble, "because the second I do, that disgusting _bitch_ I have inside me will try to hurt her."

"Okay," Klaus' voice was soft. He slid from his seat and knelt in front of her in one fluid motion. Klaus tenderly touched her cheek. "All right."

He stood tall enough on his knees that K could lean forward and press her forehead to his. She took in a few steadying breaths to try and calm herself after admitting something that still broke her heart to say out loud. She'd never lost Hope. K always knew where the little girl had gone and how easy it would be to find her. As a result, The Hollow never seemed completely at ease inside her body –always itching to find its most powerful vessel so it could rebuild itself.

Klaus gently kissed K and she reciprocated the affection. It was the first time they'd done so since he'd arrived earlier in the day.

"Speaking of Hope," he said as they parted. "She sent a gift with me."

K smiled softly while Klaus stood and headed inside to retrieve it. A moment later he emerged and handed K the two small bracelets Hope had made.

"She made them herself." He said.

"Aw," K breathed as she looked at the braided leather. As Klaus could, she read the boys' names easily and it made her heart swell.

"She wanted her brothers to have something from her."

"Such a sweetheart," K mumbled reverently.

* * *

 **Jardin du Luxembourg**

 _Paris, France_

The crisp chill of spring kept some of the tourists away, but not all of them. The famous gardens still held perhaps two, maybe three hundred people spread across the grounds, but it was nothing compared to a nice, warm summer day.

There were no words to describe how beautiful the gardens were, how intricate and old. She could feel their age, too. She could feel how long the trees had been around, what they'd been through and she knew how much longer they'd grow.

Just up ahead was the _la fontaine Medicis,_ a monumental fountain created by the former Queen Marie Medici –much like the entire landscape. Aged moss clung to every stone surface, the soft sound of water trickled nearby and lulled her comfortably and the new spring-growth was only just beginning to emerge. There were no words to describe how beautiful.

This was what she needed. After the hectic chaos that surrounded her for years, this was exactly what she needed to relax.

As she walked along the thin path that ran alongside the fountain –smiling to herself and feeling all tension flee- she instinctively glanced around. Her eyes darted over everything, missed nothing, and as a result, she saw something that stopped her heart. Her body went immediately still and a strange mixture of apprehension, fear, sadness and curiosity surged through her veins. There, just pass the trees, behind the garland of ivy strung between them and sitting only a few yards away… was K.

The vampire sat on the grass less than ten yards away, turned at a slight angle with her back to the fountain. She was resting on an outstretched blanket with her legs crossed and… a child in her lap. There was a little boy with deeply-colored hair and aqua eyes in her lap. He was perhaps nine, ten months old –less than a year, but not far- and chewing happily on a small apple wedge she helped him hold.

Her mind raced as she watched in fascination, but her shock intensified not long after. She didn't know how long she'd stared, but it seemed long enough for another to be added. Klaus, Klaus-goddamn-Mikaelson approached from a blind spot and he wasn't alone, either. A boy just like the first was in his arms, held securely to the hybrid's hip as he joined the vampire on the blanket.

He fell easily to his knees and took a seat as well. The adults smiled to one another, spoke something the spectator couldn't hear and seemed blissfully ignorant to being spied on. The scene was indescribable. To anyone who didn't know the truth, they would look the part of a proper family –mother, father and two boys, but she knew who and what both of them were, so that begged the question: who were the boys?

Her feet carried her closer until she stood just behind one of the ancient trees dividing the fountain from the grassy knoll the family sat on. Her brows came together as she watched, but her eyes were solely on the boys. She noted their dark hair –like K's. She saw their brilliantly sea-green eyes that looked like a combination of both Klaus' sapphire blue and K's glowing green. She noticed their full lips, their fair skin and how the boys reacted to the pair. Given what she knew about Klaus, she assumed the boys were likely his biological children, but they looked so much like Kali, too. It seemed impossible to her –that a vampire could bear children- and yet, given everything she'd seen and done, somehow it didn't seem _completely_ impossible.

She continued to stare, to watch the family interact, smile, laugh and feed the toddlers. She could see the happiness there, the love and it made any reservations she had disappear. After a moment, she allowed herself to be happy for the family –even for Klaus.

Part of her wanted to approach them, to say hello and simply talk to the family, but she didn't. She didn't want to interrupt their picnic and possibly throw a wrench into their day. So, with a heavy smile, Bonnie turned her back on the Mikaelsons and continued her walk through the park.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 30 was replaced with an actual chapter. I just wanted to thank you guys for sticking with my story and I hope you come back for the fifth 'book'.

 **In Order:**

 **The Veil Between Love and Hate**

 **Ever Present**

 **Eternal Night**

 **Devil's Heartstrings**

 **Coming Soon:**

 **Book Five-**

 **Always and Forever**


	32. Chapter 32

**AN:** Just cause. Something kind of spooky (I guess?) for Halloween. At the very least, it's gruesome. lol. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

 **Mini Chapter**

K walked along the desolate street. She only wanted a moment to clear her head, a moment to herself, but she was denied the ability.

As she walked, the brief sound of something whizzing through the air barely met her ear before she felt it. Something slammed into the back of her right shoulder, broke through the bone and thrust itself out the front. A barb of some kind suddenly erupted from her shoulder and expanded its teeth, keeping it from being pulled back out.

"What the fu-"

Before the word could leave her lips, its twin was shot through her left shoulder as well. She screamed in pain. While the barbs were metal, the shafts were wooden and soaked in something toxic –vervain.

Without warning, K's knees were taken out from under her as gunshots rang out. She collapsed as a result, breathing heavily. She was under attack.

As her vision pulsed and the poison coursed through her body, people appeared from nowhere. K forced herself to focus, but she didn't recognize anyone. One, two –ten or more- soon surrounded her, and they were all enemies. But one stepped forward, one made himself known to her quickly.

Unwilling to show the true measure of pain she felt, K met his empty stare without fear.

"What is this?" she asked with a tight edge.

He said nothing as he raised his weapon and shot her again. The bullet tore through her gut. K tried to keep from making a sound, but the grunt of pain was unavoidable.

"Vervain… bullets." She breathed. It was clever, and she hated that.

The leader continued his advance until he was within a few feet. He knelt before her without fear. She didn't like it. Clearly, he didn't know what he was up against.

"My own design," he pointed at the barbs in her shoulders with his gun. "Those bits there, they're collapsible." K looked down instinctively and noticed he motioned to the pieces of jutting metal that kept the projectile in place. "They bend down as they pass through the skin and burst out again once through. They make it impossible to remove. And of course the spear is wooden, and soaked in vervain. We couldn't take our chances with you, could we, Jack."

Her eyes shot to his. The stranger remained blank as he stood and stepped away once again. He seemed smart enough to realize that taunting a dangerous animal was best done at a distance.

"It took me one-hundred and fifty years," he continued, "but I finally found you."

K narrowed her gaze. She searched his face for any sign of familiarity and for a while, she couldn't. But then, everything snapped into focus and whether she meant to or not, K began to laugh. That hadn't been the reaction the congregation expected and it put them on edge.

"Well, well, well," she jeered, "The etchings hardly do you justice, Freddy. You look much worse in person."

His jaw clenched and his temper erupted at her taunt. "I am Chief Inspector Abberline, and you will address me as such, monster."

Her laugh returned and his anger boiled as a result. Filled with rage that had been festering for well over a century, Abberline shot forward and brought the butt of his pistol sharply across her face. K's head snapped to the side and her lip split, but her laughter didn't subside.

Slowly, she turned to face him again with blood trailing down her chin as her wound healed.

"That's a bit of a pot, kettle situation isn't it?" she taunted. "It seems you're a monster now, too."

He shifted uncomfortably on his feet as he glowered. "I knew the truth, even back then." He admitted. "I knew those murders weren't done by a human being. They thought I was mad, but I knew it." She smirked. "So I searched and searched, and eventually, I found the real animals in the world –vampires. My determination had taken its toll, however. Thankfully, I managed to turn myself."

"You turned yourself?" she asked skeptically.

He nodded sharply, "The blood of the first vampire I killed is what did it. I'd done so much research, I knew what to do."

"So you killed yourself?" she openly mocked. "Pathetic."

"I was going to find you." He hissed hatefully. "I swore to god I would find the monster of Whitechapel-"

"And you sold your soul to do it." She tisked like a disappointed mother. "Pathetic, Freddy. Desperate, even."

He raised his weapon and aimed it at her head. "But I've found you." He growled. "It took me this long, but I've finally found you, and I'm going to enjoy repaying you for everything you did to those women."

A soft, haunting laugh left her lips. The sound was foreign enough it caused those surrounding her to freeze. Their grips on her ropes tightened. Why was she laughing?

"Is something funny, monster?"

Still chuckling sweetly, K began to sing and it was nothing short of haunting.

"One, two," her voice was sickeningly innocent, "Call the boys in blue."

Worried glances darted between her captures while Abberline tensed.

"Three, four, someone's killed a whore."

"Stop it," he growled between clenched teeth. She didn't listen.

"Five, six, he does it all for kicks." She sang. "Seven, eight, the coppers were too late." K looked up through strands of hair. A smile as evil as the rest of her tugged at K's lips and her features shifted. Gold and black eyes shined brightly. "Nine, ten, Jack will kill again."

No sooner than she sang the final note of the creepy song children of the day had given to Jack did K move. She twisted herself, spinning in her spot so suddenly her captures were forced to relinquish their grips on her ropes. When she was free, she ran for each of them.

Screams pierced the night and ended only a moment later when they were replaced with painful gurgles. Kali tore through the mob that had once hoped to subdue her with a smile of wicked glee gracing her blood-stained lips.

She was fast –so much faster than they'd given her credit for- and they paid the price in blood. Abberline was frozen in fear. It seeped into his very marrow, preventing him from helping, from fleeing the gruesome scene.

It seemed only seconds passed before Abberline was left standing in a sea of blood and gore. Body parts littered nearly every square foot of concrete and not a single spot of gray was visible through the pools of blood. There was so much crimson, in fact, that rivers of it ran along the curb and to the nearby storm drains.

No words could describe the carnage that surrounded him. The air itself was littered with blood. He could taste it and now he was all alone. The eleven men he'd brought with him were nothing now, just memory.

The sound of boots clicking against damp concrete forced him to turn. It was K. Each step that brought her closer to him threatened to make Abberline faint. Each step made him flinch and jump as though the action itself was deadly. But it was nothing compared to the fear he felt at seeing her.

K dripped with red. It twisted her hair into tendrils as they fell in front of her down-turned face. Her shoulders were tense, bent forward at an awkward angle and still impaled by the barbs that had caught her. K's arms were away from her sides, not out wide, but held out regardless. He assumed it was because of the harpoons preventing her from relaxing them, and it left her silhouette all the more terrifying as a result.

Blood dripped from her fingertips; it stained every inch of clothing, and was smeared across her otherwise angelic face. But the thing that terrified him the most was her eyes. Two orbs of gold glowed in a sea of black and when she smiled… though blood-stained like the rest of her, Abberline was more than capable of seeing her glinting fangs.

Whatever gave him the strength to run only lasted a moment. He barely managed to put a few yards between himself and The Ripper before he was brought violently to the ground. Abberline's head bounced off the concrete with a sickening crack. It stunned him enough he barely felt the weight on his chest.

As the wound healed and his wits returned, Abberline opened his eyes and found the monster so much closer than before. K's body was pressed to his, keeping him pinned with a strength he didn't anticipate. He knew K was an older vampire –that much was obvious when he learned of the world- but she wasn't just a vampire. He hadn't anticipated that and was paying dearly for it.

"Do it," he spat hatefully. "Just kill me, you disgusting creature."

A soft, borderline kind laugh left her twisted lips before she spoke, "Oh, no, no, no, noooo." She cooed, tilting her head to the side as she stared at him with golden eyes. "I'm not going to kill you, Freddy. Not at all."

His brows came together as confusion seeped in. "Then… what… I don't understand."

Her smile widened to the point it was almost obscene. K reached forward and held his jaw. He felt the intense chill of the blood as she touched him and it turned his stomach.

"I want you to live, you silly thing." She giggled. "I want you to live a long, _long_ life," and then her smile faded and any hint of joy or kindness vanished immediately. Abberline physically shuddered. "In fear," her voice was twisted with something inhuman, something animalistic. K focused and she knew he felt the compulsion wash over him. "I want you to remember this moment for the rest of your unnatural life. I want you to remember that you tried to hunt me and failed, that you had Jack the Ripper in your grasp, and you weren't strong enough, fast enough or good enough to keep me." She leaned forward just enough for her nose to brush his. "And I want you to relive this fear every time you think of me," she said softly, "every time you think of coming after me again, remember this moment." His breath was stolen from him. K released the compulsion. "Nod if you understand me." He nodded and her unsettling smile returned. "Good boy,"

With a pat on the cheek, K vanished from sight. Abberline was struck temporarily dumb. He couldn't move or catch his breath for what seemed like eternity.

* * *

K stepped through the door and was met almost immediately with Klaus. He eyed her disheveled appearance and the agitation on her face. He arched a single brow in response.

"Not a word." She warned.

He held up his hands in mock surrender, more than willing to keep from further 'angering the beast'. Instead, he stepped forward and examined the protrusions.

"Hm," he mumbled to himself. After a quick glance, he knew what he'd have to do, and knew she wouldn't like it. "This will hurt." He warned.

K did nothing more than nod. With one of his own, Klaus reached forward, but K suddenly twisted away from his grasp.

"Vervain," she said. She'd nearly forgotten.

Klaus' jaw clenched and the look in his eye let her know he was not only angry, but disappointed, but he wisely said nothing.

K expected him to grab something to cover his hands so he could handle the wooden shafts of the spears, but instead, he took hold. Klaus bit back a groan at the sting, but said nothing. With a sure hand, he snapped the wood in half. K growled angrily when he jostled it, but Klaus worked fast. The instant he'd broken the wood, he yanked the barb forward and out. K barely had time to breathe easy before he repeated the process on her left shoulder.

She felt better the moment she was free of the vervain and wood.

"Thank you," she sighed gratefully. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower."

He gave her a gentle nod and watched as she began to walk towards the bathroom. "Dare I ask?" he asked before she disappeared.

"I'll tell you about it later." She called over her shoulder.

When she told him she wanted to take a walk, and asked him to watch the boys, he hadn't thought she'd return covered in blood. No, that's a lie. He expected blood, but not the weaponry or for it to look as though she swam in it.

Klaus chuckled to himself. Sometimes, he swore she could be the more dangerous of them. But then again, that's why he loved her.


	33. Chapter 33

**AN** : Hey guys! Here's another small, mini-chapter for this story. I have to keep these characters fresh! Haha. Besides, I like writing them.

Before we get to the story, I do have some news. I have written a book, and it's been published and everything! If you're interested in it, it's called **Hope** (no, there's no connection to this story, lol) by **C. Tyler** and it's published through **Evernight Publishing**. Fair warning, it's pure smut. I won't lie. It's a short story that's basically five chapters of explicit sex, so if that's not your thing, that's fine. Anyone else, have a look if you want. I'm not pressuring anyone, obviously, but I've actually been published now! It's my first book, so I'm a little excited. Oh, it's on Amazon, too.

Anyway, here's the chapter, and I hope you guys like it. Enjoy!

 **Mini-Chapter**

"Here," Freya said as she handed K the two pieces of leather. "These should help keep their powers suppressed."

"Thank god," K sighed. She was exhausted, and a little scared. The boys' magic was already manifesting and one can only take so much of levitating toys and toys that explode when one of them throws a tantrum.

"So," Freya said as she and K rose from their seats, "Is it really that bad?"

K scoffed and shook her head. One instance was still clear in her mind. Last week, Alexander took Matthew's truck. Matthew obviously didn't appreciate the theft and acted instinctually –magically. He swatted at thin air, but the action held a clear purpose. Without warning, the fire truck shot out of Alexander's hands and sailed through the air and right out the window –the _closed_ window. The worst part was, Matthew didn't intend for it to happen. His response to his truck being taken was reflexive. All he knew was he didn't want his brother to have it and –unfortunately- possessed the magic to do something about it.

Freya smiled and didn't bother hiding the laugh when K told her the story. Kali openly glowered at her sister-in-law. Not being around, the story probably did sound adorable. To those living in the chaos, not so much. And it was the second time for K. She'd already gone through something similar with Hope years ago. There was no denying the Mikaelsons' magical prowess –they're an incredibly strong family in every respect- so K expected something similar with the boys, but still…

The two make their way into the bedroom where the boys were sleeping. K handed Freya one bracelet while she took the other and together they tied them on to the boys' wrists. Now that they're bigger, the bracelets Hope made just about fit them. The pieces of leather still needed to be tied uniquely to ensure they wouldn't fall off, but given they needed a 'magic suppressor' now, K couldn't think of anything better to use.

When the pair returned to the living room, Klaus was in the process of righting the Christmas tree. It'd been knocked over by a tantrum earlier in the day and he hadn't bothered fixing it until now. There seemed to be little point when it was likely to be toppled again.

"Perhaps now," he sighed with the same level of exhaustion K had spoken with earlier, "We'll be able to keep these decorations on the walls?"

Both Freya and Keelin smiled to themselves, but said nothing. Again, they were allowed to enjoy the boys for their visit. They didn't have to raise the twins, to be around them twenty-four hours a day through the screaming and fighting. They just got to enjoy the chubby cheeks, and giggles.

"And worse yet," K said as she reached for the stockings they hadn't rehung since they were knocked from their hooks nearly a week prior, "I swear they're feeding off each other."

"What do you mean?" Keelin asked curiously.

"Their magic," K explained. After looping the stockings onto their supports, she turned to face the wolf and the witch. "I'm fairly certain they're stronger together, like one's power is helping the other. Do you know what I mean?"

They stared at her with a hint of confusion for a moment or two. K wished she could explain what she meant better, but it was one of those situations where despite making sense in her head, she just couldn't get it out properly. Thankfully, Freya seemed to understand.

"Like two lit matches," she said. It was Klaus and K's turn to stare back confounded. "When a pair of matches is lit," Freya went on to explain, "they're both equals in their own right, but when you put them together, the flame combines and gets bigger –stronger."

"Exactly!" K exclaimed, pointing a finger at Freya. "That's exactly what it's like. Together, I swear they're stronger than when they're apart."

Freya nodded as she slipped into her thoughts. Her expression turned blank for a moment as she considered the implications. She thought she'd only been silent for a brief time, but in reality minutes had passed and it worried Klaus and K.

"Something wrong?" Klaus asked with an edge. He was worried and annoyed with his sister's silence –emotions that generally followed him into most situations.

"Hm?" she snapped back into the moment and saw their apprehension. "Oh, no." Freya shook her head. "No, nothing's wrong."

"Don't lie to us, Freya." K's voice was tight for obvious reasons. "Is it dangerous or something? Toxic?"

"Oh, no." Freya quickly said. She suddenly realized their fear was attributed to the boys' safety and felt immediately guilty as a result. "No, no, no. No, the boys should be fine."

"But?" Klaus pressed.

Freya fidgeted slightly. "But," she said hesitantly, "That connection has the potential of making them even more powerful than myself, or Hope. Or,"

Klaus and K felt enough worry when Freya said the boys could be even stronger than their older sister, but when she added _or_ their hearts dropped.

"Or?" K asked with a heavy sigh. She almost didn't want to know.

"Or," Freya said, "It could make them vulnerable." Their questioning stares returned. "Because they're identical twins, the magic that would otherwise be in one individual is possibly separated between the two making them reliant on one another." Klaus and K glanced to one another out of the corner of their eye. Their expression made Freya immediately backpedal, "But it's still too early to tell." She said, plastering a smile across her lips. "They're not even two years old, after all."

Reluctantly, the two parents nodded. Freya knew her explanation may not have assuaged their fears completely, but perhaps later they'd realize that it truly was too early to tell. Again, the boys were still toddlers.

The night proceeded with typical catching up and conversation, but all the while everyone wondered about the boys' power. As bad as it would sound for her to say it out loud, and how selfish it was, K honestly prayed the boys were two halves of the same whole. She would rather their magic be divided between them because the alternative was something she knew she was unprepared for. The thought that her sons were capable of being stronger than Freya or Hope –after seeing their skill- legitimately terrified K.

It was the difference between an air horn and a sonic boom. K preferred the air horn.

* * *

 **Christmas Eve-Day, Mystic Falls, Virginia**

Hope was pacing excitedly, swaying her weight from one foot to the next as she watched people walk through the doors to baggage claim. Hayley didn't bother hiding her smirk. Hope hadn't calmed down since Klaus said he'd be arriving for the holidays. She hadn't seen her father since August and for a clear Daddy's Girl, that was far too long. Hope understood why, of course, and it didn't bother her in the least, but she always impatiently looked forward to the time when she could have her dad all to herself.

"Where is heeeee?" she whined.

"He's coming," Hayley laughed. "Maybe he stopped off to eat the pilot?"

Hope let out a loud, teenage scoff and rolled her eyes. She knew Hayley was only joking, but felt the reaction was still merited.

Roughly forty-five minutes after the illuminated screen above said the flight had landed, Hope finally caught a glimpse of her dad. Klaus was in the back, hidden by a family of people, but she could still see his head. A wide-toothed smile immediately formed the instant she saw him and she began to bounce in her spot.

So overrun with excitement to see Klaus, Hope didn't really notice the presents Klaus brought with him. But Hayley noticed. She noticed quickly and her smile fell as a result.

A moment after passing through the double-glass doors and clearing the other passengers, Hope was finally able to see what he held in each hand and her face lit up. Actually, Hope squeaked and the sound caused Hayley to wince.

"Oh my God!" Hope declared as she raced for her dad.

Klaus smirked crookedly –arrogantly- as he came to a stop, allowing his daughter to reach him. But, instead of jumping into his arms and hugging him tightly, she fell to her knees and instantly began to swoon over her brothers. Hayley was still in shock, temporarily stunned to see Klaus walking towards them carrying a car seat in each hand, each holding a sleeping toddler. Eventually, she approached, too.

"Wow," she sighed softly as she looked down at the sleeping boys. "And K's okay with them being here?"

Klaus took a deep breath, sighed softly and shrugged. "It's difficult to say." He admitted. "She wanted Hope to meet her brothers, but-"

Hayley nodded her understanding. "But she didn't want to let her sons out of her sight." Klaus nodded.

Hayley understood the sentiment all too well. It was the curse of every mother –never wanting your children away from you for too long. Still, it was incredibly sweet for K to let Klaus bring them to the states.

The trio remained in baggage claim for another half an hour waiting for Klaus' bag before finally heading home. The entire time, Hope couldn't step away from her brothers. She was fascinated by them, entranced even. She'd always wanted siblings, and now she had them. And not just that, but they were witches –she could tell. Hope could actually feel the magic coming off them, feel their connection to her and the family. It was amazing.

* * *

At home, Klaus sat back and watched as Hope and Hayley both played with the boys. It was so close to perfect. The only things missing were about eight other people.

Klaus' stomach sank at the thought. Eight people… that's how many were scattered around. Clearly, K was the first that came to mind. Then there was Kol with Davina –one he'd reluctantly accept if needed. Freya and Keelin. Elijah was still missing. Then Rebekah and Marcel. Eight. Eight people still scattered to the wind.

While Klaus was lost in his thoughts, Hayley couldn't help but stare in awe at the twins. They were clearly identical and so obviously Kali's that Hayley could almost see the young woman through their eyes.

Each had swatches of raven-colored hair that was slowly but surely growing long enough to get into their sea-green eyes, plump, round cheeks that grew even bigger with each sparsely-toothed smile, and the happiest giggles one could ever hear. But, there was one thing that kept the two from being carbon copies of one another. One of the boys –Matthew- had a small beauty mark beneath his left eye. That's all. A mark no bigger than a freckle was the only thing that separated the two –aside from the bracelets Hope had made them.

Hour passed and eventually –after dinner- it was bedtime for the little ones. Hope wanted to be there to say goodnight to them. She wanted to be the one to tuck them in, so Hayley and Klaus happily let her.

Standing back in the doorway, the pair watched as Hope did just that. She leaned over the edge of the playpen-styled crib Klaus bought earlier in the day, and wrapped them both in their respective blankets. Giving each of them a parting kiss on the cheek, she said goodnight and let them drift to sleep.

Klaus was glad to see the immediate connection between Hope and the twins. Part of him was honestly worried they wouldn't react well to one another. Toddlers can be strange around newcomers. They can either love them immediately, or be standoffish and skeptical. Evidently, the twins somehow knew Hope was their sister and took to her instantly. The same could be said for Hayley. On some level, Alexander and Matthew knew these people were their family.

About an hour later, it was time for Hope to go to bed, too. She was much more reluctant being filled with the excitement of the day, but whether she wanted to or not, she did as she was told.

"Goodnight, sweetheart." Klaus said as he hugged her.

Hope returned the affection before getting into bed and adjusting herself beneath the blankets. Klaus was nearly out of the room when she spoke.

"Dad?" she asked. He paused at the door and turned. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, darling." He nodded. Klaus returned to her bedside and sat down, waiting to hear what she wanted.

Hope paused briefly. "Are we all going to be together again, as a family?"

His cold heart broke at the sad question. Klaus didn't know what to say for a moment. He wanted to be honest, but he didn't want to hurt Hope, either. Klaus didn't want to tell her that with each passing year he feared the family may never be reunited, at least not in her short life-time.

"Of course we will." He finally said with a charming smile. "Always and forever, remember?"

"How do you know?"

Her small challenge wasn't said with malice, but on some level, Klaus felt attacked. He couldn't help it. He still felt incredibly guilty for his family's circumstance. He felt responsible.

"Because I know," was all he could offer in the way of an answer. "Goodnight, darling."

Hope gave him a small smile and let Klaus leave for the night.

Klaus returned to the living room where Hayley was sitting watching TV. She wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to it, but it held her eye until Klaus entered the room.

"So," she said while he poured himself a drink, "How are things in…"

"Sweden," he replied. He saw no issue with telling Hayley what country they called home, so long as it wasn't the city.

"Right, Sweden… wow," she mumbled to herself. The sheer number of foreign countries the two had moved to in the last few years was still staggering to her. "So how are things there?"

"Good," he replied as he fell graciously into a seat across from the couch where Hayley rested. "Interesting."

"What do you mean?" She was honestly curious.

Klaus took a deep breath and sighed slowly as he thought about the life he had. While he'd change nothing on the face of it, there was still something he wanted desperately: togetherness.

"I don't like the twins being raised in isolation." He admitted.

"They're not isolated." Hayley sighed at the slightly accusing tone. "They have both of their parents."

"Without the rest of their family." He pointed out.

"Klaus, they'll be fine. Hope didn't have you guys for a few years, either, and she was just-" Hayley immediately silenced herself. It wasn't until the end of that statement that she realized what she was insinuating. She didn't mean to make it sound like Hope was better off without them, but it did come out that way. For a moment, she waited to see how he'd react, but to her surprise, Klaus seemed calm.

"I'm well aware." He replied without any real tone. "But family is everything."

Hayley muttered her agreement as she slipped once more into her thoughts. She wasn't going to refute his statement. If there was one thing she'd learned being a part of the Mikaelson family for nearly fourteen years –Jesus, fourteen years…- it was how much they needed family. It was strange with them, like blood was the only thing that mattered in the world. It was a stronger bond than she'd ever seen in any other group of people, and that was impressive –especially considering how often the Mikaelsons fought.

But Hayley had grown to share their thoughts on the matter. Being around the Mikaelson clan let Hayley feel what it was like to be loved –fully and completely. She now knew what it felt like to be willing to do anything for someone else and know it's returned. It was something similar to what she felt with the wolves, but the Mikaelsons took that to the extreme. And she loved them for it.

The night wore on and eventually Hayley went to sleep, leaving Klaus in the living room on his own. Sipping on his bourbon, Klaus reached for his cell phone and dialed a single number.

" _Hello,"_ K answered. He felt immediately better hearing her voice.

"Hello, sweetheart." He said with a soft smile. "Did I wake you?"

" _No,"_ she told him honestly. " _I haven't slept."_

Klaus didn't have to ask why. He already knew it was because the boys were with him in another country. This was the first time she'd ever let them out of her sight and she was forthcoming when she told him the thought alone made her skin crawl.

* * *

K stood in the darkness, in the cold, while she talked to Klaus on the phone.

" _Try, darling."_ He told her. " _We'll be home soon enough."_

"I will."

" _Well, I'm turning in for the night. I love you, Kali."_

"I love you, too, Nik."

And with that, they hung up. From her stance a few yards away, K was more than capable of seeing Klaus rise from his seat and turn off the living room light. Her eyes followed him through the walls and to a dark window. A moment later, she saw the light through the curtains and knew he was getting ready for bed.

K knew she shouldn't have followed him to Virginia. She knew she shouldn't be standing in the tree line staring at the house. She knew she shouldn't have done a lot of things, but she couldn't help it. Between losing Klaus, her sons, and desperately wanting to see Hope, too much was pulling K to the US.

She'd tried to explain it to Klaus, but he dismissed her need with simple anxiety about the twins being out of her control. It wasn't –at least, not all of it. Inside, deep in the pit of her gut, K felt The Hollow churning and for once, she wasn't able to ignore it.


End file.
